The Secret History of Tori and Jade
by The Silent Mind
Summary: Somewhere along the way, in between the moments we see through the TV show, Tori and Jade fell in love. This is the story of how it happened.
1. Chapter 1

Author's Note: This is a secret history, which means that in this story, when the characters are in the scenes that are shown on the TV show, that's exactly what you see, things happen as they do on the show, what I've tried to do is add in the motivations and internal thoughts and dialogues in those scenes in addition to the off screen scenes. I always thought Jade and Tori had great chemistry. This is my first story that I'm publishing, so **constructive** criticisms only please.

Chapter 1

"I _told_ you they'd all be here!" Said Beck as he and Jade burst through the door.

"Listen, I am sorry we didn't invite you guys to play…" Tori said, but Beck interrupted her:

"Tell her _why _you didn't invite us."

Tori hesitated, she didn't have the heart to tell them the truth and scrambled for a half-plausible lie, "Well… 'cause…we were… planning your surprise party?" It was weak even in her head, and sounded weaker when she said it out loud.

"What?" Jade asked.

"Alright," Andre said angrily, "We didn't invite you guys to play because you two are always screaming at each other, it makes everybody feel awkward, it makes Cat faint, and sometimes it makes Robbie cry."

"_See?_ We fight so much even our friends don't want us around."

"Tori's not my friend," Jade started, counting them off, "I only tolerate Robbie, no one likes Trina, and Cat's basically a pet."

Cat barked, completely unoffended by being called a pet, and Trina said, "Uh, are you guys gonna let her say that nobody likes me?"

Every eye fell on Tori. Normally, Tori would defend her sister, just out of principle, but this seemed like a bad time, she had other things to worry about right now, like the sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach that tells her that tonight's the night that Beck and Jade breaks up. So she ignored her sister and tried to defuse the tension instead.

"So, why don't you guys play cards with us?" She suggested, trying to get the couple's minds off of the fight, but it didn't work, and Beck said:

"Look, I don't want to be your boyfriend if we're just gonna fight all the time."

"So you wanna break up?" Jade asked.

"No, I didn't say that, I'm just saying- "

"Wait, you guys might break up?" Trina put in, and got a faceful of pillow for her interest.

"Next time it's a _hammer!_" Jade threatened, "Come on, Beck, take me to get some food."

"I'm tired of fighting." Beck said, staying where he was.

"Okay, I'm gonna walk out that door and I'm gonna count to ten, if I get to ten and you're not out there, I'm going home, and we're over." Jade said, and, opening the door, she started to count, "One."

When Jade got to "four", Beck sighed and headed for the door, but Tori could tell he was doing this more out of habit than anything. Tori could hear it in his sigh that he was simply giving in to Jade, like he always did. Tori had always thought that the fighting was part of their relationship, like the constant bickering that was part of her and Jade's relationship. She didn't like to see them fighting not because it made her feel awkward, but because to her it felt almost like she was intruding on something private between the couple, though judging by what Andre has just said, the others didn't feel the same. And she had always expected that, no matter how bad the fighting got, Beck and Jade would always be Beck and Jade, together, a couple, but seeing them now, seeing Beck, he seemed to be just going through the motions, and maybe she was wrong about the fighting. Beck for one did not seem happy in the relationship, and Tori had to wonder if he had made the same assumptions that Tori herself had made in staying with Jade for so long. Of course, Trina was not helping the situation, she had leapt on the slightest hint of an opportunity to date Beck, literally. When they finally pulled her off of Beck, Tori was afraid it would be too late, but Jade had only gotten to "seven". At "eight" Beck already has his hand on the door, but he hesitated. Tori wanted to urge Beck on, but she knew she can't help even though she wanted to so much, and she didn't know why it mattered to her that they didn't break up.

At the count of "ten", there was a pause, and Tori held her breath, there was still a moment's opportunity left where Beck can open that door and save his relationship with Jade. And then it was gone, he had let it go, and instead turned around and said:

"Let's play some cards."

"Yeah… let's play." Tori said numbly.

"I'll pick up the cards." Cat volunteered.

"Make sure you get all of them." Said Andre.

"'Kay 'kay. One, two, four…"

As Cat continues to pick up the cards, Tori stares at the door that Jade went through a few minutes ago, wondering if she should go after her. She had always known that Jade's abrasive nature didn't make her a lot of friends, and she had gotten to the top of the Hollywood Arts social hierarchy through sheer talent, but it seemed, now more evident than ever, that even their little group was only friends with her because of Beck. As Andre picked up the last card, the one Cat missed because she forgot to count "three", and started to shuffle, Tori looked around at their little group, all of them looking awkward and miserable, even Cat's usual cheeriness was subdued, and she suddenly remembered the last time Jade and Beck broke up, the Alyssa Vaughn incident. That time, Jade had broken up with Beck and she had been miserable about it, and Andre, the only person Jade hadn't denied was her friend, had to practically be dragged over to the table to eat lunch with her. And now Beck had broken up with her. She'd need a friend now more than ever, Tori thought. She picked up the cards Andre had dealt her, took a single look and put them down again. She got up from the table and said:

"Um, you know what guys, why don't you play without me, I have to go…" She trailed off, not knowing how to explain what she wanted to do. She just ran upstairs, put on a jacket and headed out the door to Jade's house.

* * *

Jade had been sure that Beck would come after her, but he didn't, the door stayed closed. Jade approached the door and was about to open it, but thought, what would that accomplish? She had told him: if he didn't come after her when she counted to ten, then they were over, and now Beck had made his decision, what more was there to say? She certainly wasn't about to go back in and humiliate herself in front of all their friends by begging him. The friends, who, if forced to make a choice, Jade knew they would choose to hang out with him, cool, handsome, talented actor Beck, rather than her, the crabby Cathy. Then it hits her, she didn't just lose Beck, she had lost all her friends, because they were all his friends first. She turned from the Vega house and headed to her car, holding back the flood of emotions. She drove the short distance to her house and ran up to her room, locked the door before finally breaking down in a torrent of tears. She was alone, not just single, but friendless. And Beck, her now ex-boyfriend, was the nicest guy in the world, but somehow they were always fighting. Jade had always thought that it was natural part of their relationship, they fight, they make up and they make out. She didn't remember what most of their fights were about, there had been so many of them, but it seemed that Beck wasn't happy with it. And now she had finally ruined things, she would be alone for the rest of her life because she will just keep on pushing everyone away, like she did Beck, and Beck would be free to find someone who made him happy, someone who wasn't suspicious and jealous all the time, someone who was actually nice, someone like Tori.

The doorbell rang downstairs, but Jade hardly registered it, and didn't care one bit, but kept on imagining Beck and Tori together, being sickly sweet in front of her. She got angry just thinking about it. But a knock on her door interrupted her thoughts.

"Go away." Jade mumbled.

The intruder knocked again.

"I said _go away!_" Jade said, louder this time.

"Come on, Jade, open the door." Said a familiar voice.

Jade got up and opened the door, she hadn't mistaken the voice, it was really Tori Vega standing outside her door.

"What are you doing here Vega? And how'd you even know where I lived?" Jade demanded.

"I came to see if you were okay. And to your second question, my dad's a cop."

Jade narrowed her eyes as she considered that for a moment, then said, "You might as well come in then."

Jade went to her bed and sat down with a sigh, she heard Tori close the door with a soft click.

"So…are you okay?" She heard Tori ask.

"Yeah, wonderful!" Jade snapped, "My boyfriend has just broken up with me, but that's okay, it's not like we were together that long, only _two years_!"

Tori didn't say anything. Wise of her, Jade thought, and she sighed again, and asked, "Am I a bad person?"

Jade could see the look of surprise on Tori's face, Jade was surprised herself, not only at the question, but at the person she was directing it to – the person who, unknowingly, had been a subject of some of the biggest, most memorable fights she and Beck ever had, the person, the _only_ person whom Jade had truly considered to be her equal.

"What? No." Tori answered, "How could you think that?"

Jade was struck by the sincerity in Tori's voice, and looked up at Tori to make sure she wasn't imagining it. She wasn't.

"Because," she said, "Beck is the nicest guy in the world, but when he's with me, we're just always fighting, always arguing. Is it me? Do I turn him into a jerk?"

"No, of course not, but…maybe…it wouldn't hurt you…to be just a _little_ nicer." Tori said, and suddenly, something Beck once said in one of their fights came back to Jade, _Why can't you be nice like Tori?_ He had said. And she had replied with_ Maybe you should just date her instead!_ Jade glared at Tori, but Tori smiled to show she was joking, and Jade's anger evaporated, replaced again by that depression.

Jade hid her face in her hands and let out another long sigh, "Why are you here Tori?" She asked wearily, "Why are you my friend after all the crap I put you through?"

Jade felt the bed sink as Tori sat beside her and put her arm around her shoulders, "Because," Tori said softly, "I know your secret Jade."

Jade froze, "What secret?" She asked, lifting her head to look at the girl beside her.

"That you're not as mean as you try to appear to be."

Jade scoffed incredulously, "What?"

"And you do care about the rest of us, even though you say mean things sometimes."

"What? No! I don't!" Jade protested, vehemently, but even she was aware that her voice was pitching so high that it's almost out of human hearing, giving the lie to what she was saying. "I mean, you heard what I said tonight," and she repeated it all over again.

"I'll give you Trina," Tori said, "But Robbie, you said you only tolerate him, that you don't care about him, he's not your friend, but you were concerned about his mental well-being, and suggested we let Rex die so Robbie could stop depending on him. And Cat, you said she's like a pet, but I think she's more like a kid sister to you, you're so protective of her."

"And you?" Jade asked, surprised that Tori could see so much in these tiny little things and remember them, and she suddenly felt naked, because if Tori could see what she sees in those inconsequential moments, then what is she seeing now that Jade is so vulnerable?

"Well, you say I'm not your friend, but you're the one who suggested that I go to the Gorilla Club to learn to take more risks, and, you came up with the idea for Beck to do the stunt in that movie instead of me."

Jade felt a twinge in her stomach, "You know about that?" She asked.

Tori nodded, "Beck told me when I went to thank him after. He said you also told him to go to Cat for the costume. And you were the one who gave me a hand when I was about to chicken out a second time on that stunt."

Jade rolled her eyes, "Gave you a hand," she muttered.

"I know," Tori said proudly, "See what I did there?"

Jade laughed at how proud Tori was of the lame pun. Tori continued, her voice had become very low, very soft in the dim light of the room, "You help me be a better actor, and…." Tori paused, and Jade could see she was working up the courage to say something sappy and Tori-like that will make them both uncomfortable, so Jade stopped her and made a joke, saying:

"Careful there, Tori, it's starting to sound like you don't hate me."

Tori laughed, but to Jade's relief, didn't continue her original thought, instead asking, "Are you gonna be alright?"

Jade shrugged, "I don't know, maybe. Eventually."

Tori nodded understandingly, and after a moment, she got up and said, "Well, it's late, I should be going." And before Jade knew what she was doing, she had grabbed Tori's hand and said:

"Stay."

For a long moment, they looked into each other's eyes and Jade sat there, holding Tori's hand, half fearing and half hoping that Tori would pretend she didn't hear her and just leave, but Tori nodded and asked if she could borrow a pair of pajamas and a toothbrush.

"There are new toothbrushes in the medicine cabinet in the bathroom," Jade told her, "I'll see if I have something to fit you."

When Tori came out, Jade had laid out the pajamas on the bed and went into the bathroom to take her turn while giving Tori some privacy as she changed. When she came back out, Tori was sitting back against the headboard in bed with the sheets pulled over her legs, waiting for her. Jade walked around the foot of the bed and crawled under the covers, and Tori lay down as she did. Jade reached up and turned off her bedside lamp and when she lay back down, she found Tori looking at her strangely.

"What?" She asked.

"Nothing," Tori replied, "It's just, you're warm."

"Did you think I'd be cold 'cause I'm such an ice queen?" Jade joked.

"Or burning hot, like a demon from hell." Tori said.

Jade laughed and thought how amazing it was that Tori could make her laugh after such a terrible day.

"'Night, Tori." She said.

"'Night Jade." Tori replied, and they both closed their eyes and drifted off to sleep.

Jade woke early in the morning, when the sky was just beginning to pale, and she could see Tori sleeping on her stomach beside her, her face turned to face Jade, half of it pressed into the pillow. Her mouth was open slightly and she was snoring gently. She watched her for a few seconds, then got up, gently removing Tori's hand from where it was thrown over her stomach, and went to the bathroom. When she came back, she replaced Tori's hand and held it there, and watched Tori sleep until she drifted off again.

* * *

Tori woke up with the warmth of Jade beside her. Jade was already awake, and smiled when Tori met her eye. And the next thing she knew, she heard the sharp snip of a pair of scissors beside her ear just before she was shoved out of the bed.

"Jade! What the hell?" Tori asked, sitting up from the floor.

"You were too close. I don't like it."

"Why did you cut out a lock of my hair?"

"It's a chunk, not a lock, and I cut it because I wanted to." Jade replied, snapping the pair of scissors again.

Tori groaned as she got up from the floor, annoyed at the poor treatment she received so early in the morning, though a part of her was glad that Jade was beginning to get back to her usual self. She showered and brushed her teeth and had breakfast before Jade drove her back to her house where Tori changed her clothes and got ready for school.

Later, as Tori showed off her new PearPhone to Robbie and Andre beside her locker, Cat joined them and said:

"Hey you guys, did you see Jade and Beck's profiles on the Slap?"

"I did."

"Yep."

"What did it say?" Tori asked, she hadn't thought to check yet that day.

"Not in a relationship." Andre replied.

"Wow, then I guess it's official, they're broken up." She said, feeling suddenly guilty that she'd been excited by such a little thing as a new phone when she might lose one of her friends in this terrible break up.

"Does my thumb look Spanish?" Cat asked.


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: Victorious is created by Dan Schneider, and property of Nickelodeon.

A/N: Thanks to all those who followed/favourited this story, and a special thanks to everyone who reviewed, your support is greatly appreciated. To everyone who's wondering, I do know where I'm going with this. I had more than one chapter finished before I posted the first chapter, because I wanted to make sure I know the arc of the plot so that I can finish it, that way I won't be wasting time, both yours and mine, with something that gets written into a corner. I have about 5 or 6 chapters completed, but I'm going to space them out and post about one a week until I actually finish the entire story, and when I do finish, be assured that I'll post more frequently (they'll probably be spaced out over days, rather than weeks). To TimelessReader: Oh believe me, Tori Fixes Beck and Jade is not a problem (I have that one all ready), it's the final few episodes that are the difficult part, but such is the task I set myself.

By the way, I realize the first couple of chapters all begin and end a bit abruptly, but since they're integrated into scenes from the show, I figured it's not too big of a problem. Also, in this chapter, Beck's POV sort of comes out of nowhere, there's not another chapter in his POV as far as I've gotten in the story, that, for me at least, is a bit of a problem, but it seemed to be necessary because I wanted Jade to be the one who sees that Tori's pretending, but Jade's POV doesn't really have a story for a scene so that's why you have this one out of place POV. But who knows, maybe I'll add another scene with Beck's POV toward the end. Anyway, that's enough of a note, here's chapter 2:

Chapter 2

"I can't believe Tori turned into such a… diva." Beck said as they walked out of Sikowitz's class after Tori caught them watching the video of her pouring ravioli down a former astronaut's pants.

"O come on! You can't come up with a better insult than 'diva'?" Jade said, rolling her eyes.

Beck shrugged, "She's still our friend, even if she is being a jerk and letting it all go to her head."

"Oh please," Jade scoffed, "It's so obvious this is just an act."

"What do you mean?" Andre asked.

"Those guys producing the music award are obviously making her act like a jerk."

"How do you know?" Beck asked.

"Because it's Miss Sweet Sally Peaches," Jade said, the last three words in that voice she reserved only for making fun of Tori. "Hollywood Arts' resident little Goody Twoshoes. She wouldn't do that stuff for no reason. The meanest thing she's done is spray hot cheese on Cat."

"Then why were you giving her such a hard time just now?" Andre asked.

"Because I enjoy it." Jade replied, "And besides, I wasn't as mean as I could've been."

"She's right," Andre said thoughtfully, watching Jade go. "She wasn't as mean as she could've been."

"_That_'s what you're focusing on?" Beck asked. He was thinking about Jade's assertion that Tori wasn't behaving like a jerk of her own free will.

"Well, yeah, and, is it just me, or does Jade seem nicer on the whole since you guys broke up?" Andre said.

"What're you implying?" Beck asked, but Andre was already walking away and didn't answer him.

"Yeah, that's what it's like to have people walk away from you in the middle of a conversation." Said Robbie, whom Beck had totally forgotten was there. Robbie walked away too after making the off-hand comment, and Beck stood in the middle of the hallway feeling surreal and unsure of what had happened. But for the rest of the day, he thought about what Jade had said, and decided to go over to Tori's after school to ask her if it's true.

* * *

When Beck arrived at Tori's house, Tori was looking normal again, in her shirt and jeans (though her sister was weird as ever), so just by that, Beck was 99% sure that Jade had been right. Tori invited him in, then closed the door and sat down with a groan.

"You know, for a girl who's about to open the Platinum Music Awards in front of, like, a billion people, you don't look too happy." He said, taking off his coat and sitting down beside her.

"Why?" He asked.

"Because, I don't wanna be—" Tori starts, but stops, then says, "'Cause I just wish I could tell everyone—" And she stops again with a little whine.

"That it's all an act?" He finishes. "That those people are making you act and dress like a jerk?"

"How did you know?" Tori asked.

"'Cause you're Tori." He replied. "You wouldn't act like that unless someone was making you."

"Oh my God! You have no idea how happy I am you know the truth!" She stops her self and said, "But I didn't tell you, I never told you I was faking, you guessed it."

"Okay. Now why don't you just stop?"

"'Cause, if I don't keep acting like a bad-girl-obnoxious-rock-star they might drop me from the show."

"The show is in two days, they can't fire you."

"I don't know, I'm scared."

"Listen, just tell Mason Thornsmith that you're not going to play his little game anymore. The world needs to see who you really are. 'Cause you're awesome."

Tori smiled at him, and Beck smiled back, then they were leaning in toward each other, and just as they were about to kiss, they were interrupted by Tori's mom, and they jumped away from each other and Beck rushed out the door, embarrassed.

When he was out the door, Beck took a moment to steady himself before heading home. Along the way, he couldn't help smiling, he'd finally had a shot at Tori. He has liked Tori ever since her first day at Hollywood Arts, even though she spilled coffee all over him. Even when he was with Jade, when things got tough, he'd fantasize about having a girlfriend who didn't always antagonize everyone around her, and since Tori showed up, that girl in his fantasies have always been her. He would imagine them walking down the school hallway together, hand in hand or with his arm around her waist, and they'd invite people to come see the new play they were in together, and the people they talked to wouldn't be too terrified to come.

That time when Jade broke up with him because of Alyssa Vaughn and Tori came over that night, he'd thought she was there to ask him out, and he was disappointed to find out that she was there to convince him to get back together with Jade. And ever since he'd broken up with Jade for real, he'd considered asking Tori out, but he'd never gotten any hints that Tori was interested in him that way, and he wasn't sure if she'd say yes. But today, he knew, and Beck thought as he got in his car and drove away, _when this is all over, I'll ask her out, and she'll say yes, and we'll be the perfect couple, and she'll be better for me than Jade ever was._

* * *

The day after Beck told her he knew she was pretending, Tori came to school in her own clothes, ready as she'll ever be to confront Mason Thornsmith, which isn't saying much, she was terrified. But she took courage in the fact that Beck was there to support her, Beck, whom she'd almost kissed. Tori stuffed the overwhelming feeling of guilt down, forcing herself not to think about it right now.

Thornsmith came with his entourage, and, with Beck's help, Tori confronted him. It did _not_ go well.

Later, Andre, Beck and Robbie came over as Tori was wallowing in self pity, they brought gifts to try and cheer her up, but it didn't help, and Andre and Robbie soon left, wanting to go see Jade rehearse for the award show. Beck came out of the bathroom a minute after they left and sat down beside her.

"I guess confronting Mason Thornsmith wasn't such a good idea after all, huh?" Beck said.

"I guess not." Tori answered.

"I should've just kept my mouth shut."

"No, you were right," Tori said. "I mean, if I'm gonna be successful, I want it to be because of my talent, not for throwing tantrums and wearing meat hats."

"Well, can't you be famous for your music _and_ wear a meat hat?" Beck said.

Tori laughed.

"Seriously, meat, whenever you want, right out of your hat."

"Right out of my hat?" Tori said, laughing.

"Right out of your hat, in your mouth."

"Simple as that," Tori chuckled, they were alone now, Beck and her, and she could guess what was coming, Beck would probably try to kiss her again.

Tori had tossed and turned in bed half the night after their almost-kiss yesterday, kept awake by the guilt. She didn't like him that way. He was a friend, nothing more, but yesterday, she was feeling so relieved that someone had figured it out and so grateful that he understood her, that she got caught up in the moment. Since then, she had agonized over the fact that she'd probably led him on and almost betrayed Jade.

"So…" Beck said, leaning in.

"Yeah…"

Tori hesitated. "Uh…Oh… You…" She drew away, gently knuckling his chin with her fist.

Beck shifted away from her, "I'm sorry."

"No, I'm sorry."

"I didn't mean to…"

"No, no, you didn't, you…"

"Then why can't we kiss?" He asked.

"'Cause…'cause of Jade." Tori answered.

"Jade and I broke up." Beck said.

"Yeah, but kissing your friend's ex-boyfriend—"

"Wait, wait, since when are you and Jade friends?" Beck asked. "Last week, she took your hamburger and she just rubbed it against her bare foot."

"What? I ate feet meat?" Tori whimpered.

"And, she took your spot in the Platinum Music Awards."

"Look, I mean, I guess Jade and I aren't 'friends' friends, but we're _kind of_ friends, I think. And kissing her ex-boyfriend… I can't do that to a friend." Tori said, trying to explain it the best she knew how. She couldn't even tell why she didn't want to hurt Jade, just like she couldn't tell why she helped Jade get Beck back that other time, or why she helped Jade put on her play, "Well Wishes," but she couldn't help it.

"I guess I should go," Beck said, getting up. Tori didn't stop him, it was getting awkward between them. She watched him put on his coat and take a step toward the door, then he paused, and said, "Jade must be really special to you."

"What do you mean?" Tori asked.

"It's just, you had no problem kissing Cat's boyfriend, Daniel, and they weren't even broken up at the time."

"Wow, Beck, that's kind of mean of you." Tori said, "And if you _have_ to know, I just don't feel that way about you."

Beck flushed, he hung his head, and said, "You're right, Tori, that was not nice, I'm sorry."

Tori accepted his apology and Beck left. She spent some time being angry with Beck for making that comment about Daniel, but then wondered if he was right about Jade being special to her. Jade just took your biggest chance of letting the world see your talent, she thought, and you're not even mad at her, so maybe she is special. And true, She was sad that she lost the opportunity to sing at the awards show, but she wasn't angry at Jade. As to why that might be, it's probably because you had to win her friendship, which makes it more valuable, she said to herself.

Tori looked for Jade at school the next day, the Friday of the show, to tell her that she wasn't angry, but Jade wasn't there. Should've realized, Tori thought, she'd be rehearsing for the show. She wondered whether she should go. On the one hand, it's Jade, one of her closest friends, and this might be the turning point in her singing career, and Tori should definitely be there to support her. On the other hand, going to the show would just remind her that it could have been her if she'd just made a little compromise and did what Thornsmith said.

Tori stopped herself, _No, don't think like that_, she said to herself. _You don't want to be what they want you to be. You've never given in to Jade's bullying, and she's way scarier. This way, you still have your integrity, you're still you, and you won't like yourself if you turned into what Thornsmith wanted you to be._

That made Tori feel better, so she decided to go to the show and show her support, and to talk to Jade, let her know there's no hard feelings. She arrived at the show just as everything was being checked one final time before the curtains went up, she found Jade alone backstage, she was layered in feathers and aluminum foil, with a cotton-candy-pink wig on her head, and looking weirdly gorgeous, though the pool noodles on top of her wig was a bit much she thought.

"Wow, incredible outfit." She said.

"I look like an idiot." Jade replied.

"A…pretty pink idiot," Tori said, "With a…thing… on her head."

"Thanks. Didn't expect to see you here."

"Well," Tori said, sidling up, feeling suddenly like one ex seeing the other for the first time after an awkward break-up. "Everyone else was coming to cheer you on, so, I figured I would too.

"And you look way better in that than I would've."

"This isn't right." Jade said quietly.

"Yeah, it is a little tight around your—"

"No, not the stupid outfit, _this, me!_"

Tori wasn't sure if she was understanding Jade correctly, "I don't…" She said, confused.

"This was supposed to be your night, this was your big chance, so, for me to go out there, and…"

"And…?"

"I can't do that to a friend." Jade said.

Tori's heart seemed to skip a beat when Jade called her a friend, then Jade added, "Or even to you."

Tori's smile faltered, then Jade smiled, and Tori knew she was only teasing with that last part.

"Are you sure?" Tori asked. "It's okay if you want to go on. I don't blame you, Jade, you're a great singer."

Jade nodded, and said, "Yeah, I'm sure, you deserve this, you won the contest. Besides, I don't want to be seen like this by hundreds of millions of people."

"Thanks," Tori said, going in for a hug. Jade rolled her eyes before letting her, smiling.

"Okay, that's enough," Jade said after a second, "Let's get you ready."

Tori took off her jacket and handed it to Jade, and together, they found a new top from the clothing rack and Tori changed while Jade went to take care of the MC's script before the show went live.


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: Victorious is created by Dan Schneider, and property of Nickelodeon, all rights reserved. This story is not for profit.

A/N: Hi guys, thanks for all your support in reviewing/following this story. Here's the next chapter, I hope to finish writing the story some time in the next week. Fingers crossed. (This chapter happens right after the Platinum Music Awards)

Chapter 3

Tori blazed through the song. Afterwards, she couldn't remember how she did, but she must have done well, because everyone was screaming, cheering for her. All she could remember was finishing the song, her friends rushing up to congratulate her, but she couldn't hear them with the ringing in her ears that was the result of the speakers and the audience's cheers. She could only remember Jade saying "Good job," but she didn't know if she heard it or just read her lips.

Tori didn't stay for the full show, she left after about an hour, and went home and tried to calm down, but couldn't for a long time with the adrenaline running through her system.

By eleven thirty, she still didn't feel like she could get to sleep, so she poured herself a glass of warm milk to help get herself to a calm and relaxed frame of mind when the doorbell rang.

"Who is it?" Tori asked, going to the door.

"It's me, Jade." Said the voice on the other side.

Tori opened the door, and sure enough, Jade stood there, out of that costume and in her own clothes, but with Tori's jacket thrown over it. Tori had forgotten about the jacket in the excitement of the night.

"Hi, Jade, what are you doing here so late?" Tori asked.

Jade didn't answer, she looked lost, and just stared at her for a minute before asking, "Um… Can I come in?"

And Tori knew something was wrong, Jade West _never_ asked permission.

"Sure, come on in." She said carefully.

Jade came in and Tori closed the door behind her. Jade sat down on the couch, put her head in her hands and sighed heavily. When her hand came away, Tori saw they were shaking slightly and Jade was on the verge of tears. She went and sat by the pale-skinned girl and, putting a comforting hand on her back, Tori asked:

"What's wrong?"

And Jade just broke down. Tori hugged her as Jade cried into her shoulder, trying to be as comforting as she can.

Jade's crying subsided after a while, and she pulled away from Tori.

"Are you okay?" Tori asked.

Jade nodded, "I'm sorry, I don't know what came over me."

"It's okay, you don't have to apologize, I'm here for you." Tori said. And Jade looked like she was about to start crying again, so Tori quickly said, "Why don't you tell me what happened?"

"Okay," Jade said, sniffling.

"It's my dad." She said after taking a moment to pull herself together. "I'd told him I'd be performing the opening number for the Platinum Music Awards, and obviously that didn't happen, and he was disappointed and angry. And when I got home tonight he lectured me about lying about something like this. And I just couldn't take it, so I came here." She hesitated, then said, "I was wondering if I could stay here for a night or two."

"Sure," Tori answered, "I'm sure my parents won't have a problem with it."

"Thanks Tor."

Tori smiled at the nickname, "Just go up to my room, find yourself a pair of pajamas and I'll talk to my parents."

Jade nodded, took a piece of tissue and wiped off the runny makeup on her face and went upstairs. Tori went to her parent's bedroom and asked if Jade can stay over for the night, and just as she thought, they said yes.

Jade was in the shower when Tori went back to her room, she got out her own pajamas and waited while Jade finished, then went and took a shower herself. When she came out, having changed into her own PJs and ready for bed, Jade was already in bed, waiting for her. Tori climbed in beside her, aware that Jade's eyes were following her all the while. But Jade kept staring at her, and a couple times, she looked like she was about to say something, but always stopped, and that was so unlike Jade that it freaked her out.

"What is it, Jade?" She finally asked.

Jade sighed, "I know Beck tried to kiss you today."

Tori froze, her thoughts suddenly frantic, wondering if this was a trick, if Jade's story about her father was just so she could get close to Tori so she could murder her.

"And I know you didn't let him." Jade continued, and Tori relaxed a little.

"How did you know?" Tori asked.

"Cat left the video-chat open." Jade said. "And I still can't believe that you did that because of me, even after I took your spot. I'm such a horrible person." She groaned.

"No, you're not," Tori said, "You're amazing. And besides, I don't even really like Beck that way."

Jade looked puzzled and disbelieving, "You were all over him the first day you were at Hollywood Arts, and you kissed him the day after. Why'd you do that if you weren't interested in him?"

"I spilled coffee on him on my first day," Tori said, a little exasperated. "And I kissed him in that improv thing because I knew it would annoy you."

"Well, thanks anyways for not kissing him today." Jade said.

Tori nodded and said goodnight.

"'Night, Tor."

Tori lay down and smiled to herself, Jade had given her a nickname, that meant they were friends, no matter how much Jade might deny it in the future, with that thought, she fell asleep beside Jade, not even needing that glass of warm milk, which still sat in the kitchen downstairs.

* * *

Tori was awakened by the phone buzzing on the nightstand on the far side of the bed. She leaned over and checked the time, it was one in the morning, and the caller ID said it was Cat. She answered, and an anxious woman who was not Cat said:

"Hello? Jade?"

"No, it's Tori," She replied, "Um, who is this please?"

"Oh, Tori, hi, it's Cat's mom," the woman on the other end said. "I thought I called Jade."

"You did," Tori said, "I didn't realize it was her phone, I just picked it up, Jade's staying at my place tonight." She explained.

"Oh, okay, well, is Cat with you?"

"No. She isn't home?" Tori asked, alarmed.

"No." Mrs. Valentine said. "I thought you guys had gone out after the award show, but it's one thirty in the morning and she's not back yet, and she's not answering her cell, so I thought I'd check with you guys, see if she's staying at a friend's."

Tori could hear the rising panic in Mrs. Valentine's voice, and, in a calming voice, said, "It's okay, Mrs. Valentine, I'm sure Cat's fine, I'll wake Jade up and ask her to call her folks, see if Cat's shown up at her place. If not, then we'll call our other friends to see if we should start looking for her."

"Okay, thanks Tori." Cat's mom said.

"Sure, no problem. I'll talk to you later, alright?" Tori hung up.

She shook Jade awake.

"What?" Jade whined.

Tori told her about the call from Cat's mom, and Jade stopped complaining, she called her parents while Tori called Andre. Cat wasn't at either places, so Tori called Beck and Jade called Robbie. Beck haven't seen her, and when she hung up, Jade was still on with Robbie, and Tori asked quietly:

"Is she at Robbie's?"

Jade shook her head, then covered the mic on her phone and said, "No, but I'm getting Robbie to get online and track the GPS on Cat's phone."

"Good idea, Jade."

Jade gave her a strained smile, "Yeah, I'm here." She said into her phone. "You found it? That's great, tell me, wait, hold on, let me get a pen." Tori was already moving, she got a pen from the drawer of her bedside table and a paper pad and gave them to Jade. Jade took it and wrote down the address.

"Got it… Later." Jade said, hanging up. Then she dialed another number and said, "Hi, Mrs. Valentine, it's Jade, we found where she is. She's close to Tori's, it'll be fastest if I go get her and bring her here…." She listened as Mrs. Valentine talked, then, "Okay, don't worry, we'll keep her safe. We'll call you when we find her…. Okay, 'bye." She hung up and got out of the bed and began to get dressed.

Tori followed suit.

"What are you doing?" Jade asked.

"I'm coming with you, of course." Tori replied.

"It's late, go back to bed." Jade said, and Tori got all warm inside, thinking Jade was finally showing a soft side, until Jade said, "It's not like you can help anyways, you can't even drive."

Tori blinked, then recovered and said, "You shouldn't go out alone so late, you need someone to watch your back. So I'm coming."

Jade rolled her eyes, "Fine." She said, lacing up her boots.

Tori put on her own shoes and threw a sweater over her shirt and grabbed a jacket from her closet. As they walked out the door, Tori saw Jade shrug on the jacket she gave her earlier in the night. She smiled, for some reason, it made her happy that Jade liked to wear it.

* * *

They found Cat at a PMA afterparty, high on bibble and running wild, dancing with five guys at once. Her bibble-guard, Oliver, was there too, but they were no longer attached at the wrist. Jade growled with annoyance as she stepped forward and shoved the guys out of the way and dragged Cat toward the exit.

"Hi Jade." Cat said happily. "When did you get here?"

"Just now," she answered. "And I'm taking you home."

"Ooh, are you gonna have your way with me?" Cat asked, giggling and wiggling her eyebrows suggestively.

Jade blushed and quickly looked around to see if anyone heard, there was only Tori, and she became angry that she got embarrassed in front of her.

"No!" She said. "Your parents are worried sick about you. And so were we when we heard you didn't get home." she gave a small gesture, indicating Tori and herself.

"No," Cat pouted, "I don't wanna go home, and you can't make me. You're not my parents."

"Cat." She said, using her most threatening look.

Cat wilted beneath that look, "But I want to keep dancing." She whined.

"Don't worry, Cat," Tori spoke up, putting her hands on Cat's shoulders comfortingly. "We'll take you dancing some other time, but right now it's late, and you need to come home, okay?"

Cat whined, disappointed, but nodded, "Okay."

"Okay." Tori said gently, and guided Cat out the door and toward the car. Jade couldn't stop staring at Tori's back until they put Cat in the back seat of the car. There was just something about Tori in that moment when she's handling Cat that made Jade feel strange inside. It was the same feeling she had when they visited Mona Patterson's house and Tori went to finish Cat's speech. And watching Tori make the speech to comfort Cat, Jade remembered thinking, _Tori's going to be a wonderful mother, the guy who gets to marry her is going to be the luckiest guy in the world._ Now she was feeling it again, that…_sentiment._ She was thinking again how good a mother Tori would be. Jade hated feeling sentimental. Luckily, Tori unknowingly came to her rescue.

"Jade, come on!" Tori said.

Jade shook her head and shoved the sentiment away. She got in the car, started it up and headed back to Tori's.

Once they were back at Tori's and Cat was slumped on the couch, Jade wondered if it was such a good idea to move her again. She pulled Tori aside and said, "I'll call her parents to tell them we found her." She hesitated, thinking of asking the other girl to let Cat stay over as well, though she hated to ask Tori for anything, preferring to simply demand it. In her moment of hesitation, Tori glanced over at Cat on the couch and said:

"Okay, but I think it's better to keep her here for the night, so why don't you tell them she's staying over and come get her in the morning instead. It's too late anyways."

Jade nodded, surprised that she and Tori had the same thought. She called Mr. and Mrs. Valentine and told them they'd found Cat, and that she should just stay over, the time being so late. Cat's parents wanted to talk to her of course, so Jade handed the phone over to Cat, and after a few minutes, during which Cat grew more and more sulky at what her parents were saying on the other end, Cat handed the phone back to Jade and Tori took her upstairs to her room to get ready for bed.

"Thank you so much, Jade, for looking after her, you're a good girl." Mrs. Valentine said.

Jade felt her face heat up, it was unusual for her to be called "good".

"You're welcome, Mrs. Valentine. Cat's a good friend." She replied.

They said goodbye. Jade put the handset down and walked over to the kitchen, she rummaged in the pantry and made hot chocolate with milk and poured two cups almost without thinking, one for herself, one for Tori. She took them to Tori's couch and added the marshmallows, then set them down to cool, turning on the TV and flipping through the channels. There was nothing good on, but she kept flipping until Tori came down and plopped down beside her with an exhausted sigh.

"She's finally down for the night." Tori said, taking one of the cups of hot chocolate. "Anything good on?"

"Nope." Jade replied, turning off the TV. She picked up her own cup and took a sip. It had cooled enough not to be scalding, but still warm enough that it melted all the tension in Jade's body as it went down. They sat beside each other, sipping hot chocolate in a silence more comfortable than Jade would have thought was possible. It wasn't something she was used to, her own house was usually cold and sterile, with an empty feeling even when there were people in it. This is what a home is supposed to feel like, she thought, this is what it's like being around people who love you. She shivered at the thought. _But this isn't your home, _she reminded herself, _and Tori Vega does _not_ love you._ She glanced at the girl beside her, Tori had finished her hot chocolate already, and her head was tilted back against the back of the couch, her eyes closed.

_She only puts up with you because of the others_. Jade said to herself. Tori's head fell on her shoulder, and Jade noticed a moustache on Tori's upper lip from the foam of the melted marshmallow. She smiled and gently wiped it off for her. Jade finished her hot chocolate, and put the empty cup on the coffee table, trying hard not to move the shoulder on which Tori rested her head. Then she sat back and closed her eyes, to rest, just for a moment, before she wakes Tori to get her to go up to her room and to bed.

The next thing Jade knew, it was morning, she was lying on the couch with her head on the armrest. Tori's back pressed into her, her head against Jade's chest. Jade found her hand inside Tori's and held over Tori's heart. Jade tried to take it out, but Tori wouldn't let go, and when she tried a little harder, Tori woke up with a deep breath, shifting her head, her chin rubbing slightly against Jade's breasts. Jade blushed as Tori's eyes met her own.

"Good morning." Tori said with a smile on her face.

"Morning." Jade replied.

They held each other's gaze for a moment, and Jade felt that feeling of home again, and it terrified her. She had been half hoping that she'd imagined that feeling the night before because she'd been exhausted and because she was vulnerable due to what happened between her and her parents.

Someone giggled above them, saving Jade from having to think about that feeling. She looked up and saw Cat standing over them, looking at them from behind the couch and sipping a glass of orange juice through a straw.

"Good morning." Cat said.

"What are you laughing at?" Jade asked sourly.

"Nothing." Cat replied, giggling again.

Jade didn't believe it was nothing, but she suddenly found that she didn't want to know why Cat was giggling at them like that. Jade looked at Tori again, who was still pressed against her, and felt her temper at Cat calm a little. Then Cat giggled again, and Jade scowled.

"Get up already, Vega." She said, jerking her hand out of Tori's grasp.

Tori got up and got off the couch, stretching. Jade caught a glimpse of Tori's stomach, flat and quite muscular, her skin smooth and tanned. Jade got up, forcing herself to stop looking at Tori. She went to the bathroom and took a shower, when she came back to the kitchen for breakfast, Tori was arguing with her parents.

"What's going on?" She asked Cat.

"They're mad at her for going out last night without telling them." Cat said.

"I knew where we were going," Tori was saying when Jade went over to them. "We went in a car, and we came straight back. It's not like we were wandering the streets at night."

"Excuse me," Jade interrupted. "Mr. and Mrs. Vega, it was my fault, I'm afraid, I was in a really big hurry to get to Cat, and Tori was the one who said it's not safe for me to go alone, but I didn't give her time to wake you guys up and tell you about it."

The look on Mr. Vega's face softened, and he said to Tori, "You could've at least called when you were in the car."

"I'm sorry." Tori said.

"Since you were just trying to help your friend, I guess I shouldn't punish you," Tori's dad said. "Just don't let it happen again. Let us know when something like this happens, okay?"

Tori nodded and headed to the bathroom. Tori's parents invited Jade to sit down and have breakfast, which Jade did. Tori came out and joined them for breakfast a little later, and all through the meal, she looked at Jade with a little smile on her face, and it made Jade suspicious, wondering why she was smiling at her. Tori's parents both went to work after breakfast, her dad had the Saturday shift at the police station, and her mom worked a half-day on Saturdays. Jade was still eating when they were gone, and so was Tori, and still glanced at Jade now and again with that smile, and finally, Jade couldn't take it anymore, and asked, almost shouting:

"Okay, _what?_ Why are you looking at me like that?"

"No reason, just wanted to say thanks." Tori said.

"For what?" Jade asked suspiciously.

"For helping me get out of trouble with my parents."

"Just don't expect me to do it again." Jade said, trying to be gruff, but not really feeling it. It felt good, actually, to hear Tori say thanks to her. She helped Tori wash the dishes after they were done, then sat down with Cat to watch TV. A little while later, Cat's parents came and picked her up. Then it was just her and Tori. At ten thirty, Trina came down the stairs, grabbed some food from the refrigerator and left the house without sparing a single glance for her sister or Jade.

"So I guess it's just us, huh?" Tori said after a while.

Jade grunted.

"You're not gonna kill me or anything are you?" Tori asked. She said it like it was a joke, but Jade gave Tori her most dangerous look, and Tori looked suddenly wary, and, satisfied with Tori's reaction, Jade said, "No."

"Good." Tori smiled. Jade elbowed her hard in the ribs.

"Ow! Hey!" Tori complained. Jade kept her eyes on the TV and off the girl beside her, but out of the corner of her eye, she thought she saw Tori roll her eyes. Jade smirked.

P.S. What Robbie did tracking down Cat's phone, I'm pretty sure it's not legal, but it seemed like something he should be able to do.


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: Victorious is property of Nickelodeon, created by Dan Schneider.

Chapter 4

Tori stood beside the punch bowl, watching Beck and Meredith on their date, Beck didn't look like he was having much fun, though Meredith seemed happy enough. Tori didn't think it was going too well, Beck just didn't seem engaged in the conversation, she wondered why that was. Tori glanced toward the stage, she was waiting for Jade's number to come up, she had heard that Jade had written the song she's going to be performing tonight. Everything Tori had heard Jade sing before had either been other people's songs, or a collaboration between Jade and someone else at the school, usually Andre. But Jade had written this song completely by herself, and Tori was very interested to hear it.

When she looked back at Beck and Meredith, she saw that Beck had left Meredith and was coming towards her.

"Hey." Beck said.

"Hey!" Tori said in a sing-song voice, hoping that she had a reason to be cheery, and that her thoughts before were wrong. "So, you and Meredith huh? Are you guys going to snoodle?"

"There will be no snoodling."

That confirmed Tori's suspicions. "What? After everything I've done? I was almost attacked with toilet paper!"

"Look, Meredith is… nice, too nice." Beck said. "I think I learned something about myself."

"That you're ungrateful to your friend who tried to fix you up with a cute girl?"

"No, I just think I like dating a girl who, you know, fights back."

Tori wasn't sure what Beck meant. Did that mean Beck might attack the poor girl at some point? Because logically, in order for the girl to fight_ back_, she has to be attacked first.

"You…?" Tori trailed off, unsure how to ask.

"I mean a girl who's got strong opinions," Beck explained. "And a big mouth."

"Why?" Tori asked.

"'Cause it's not easy," Beck shrugged, "Easy's boring."

That made Tori think of her own relationship with Jade, when they were fighting each other, it was annoying and frustrating, but also a little fun, and those fights made the other moments more special, those times when Jade was nice to her and acknowledged her as a friend.

"Okay, I get that." Tori replied. "So, who's not boring?"

At that moment, Andre's voice came on through the loudspeakers, introducing Jade, and Beck didn't answer her question. But he didn't need to, Tori got all the answer she needed from the look on Beck's face as he watched Jade's performance. All through the song, he looked at her like she was the only person in the world.

Tori turned to the performance. Jade sounded good, the song suited her very well. When it was over, Beck walked up to the stage, and after a moment, he and Jade kissed. Tori looked around, everyone was clapping for the two of them, she turned to Andre, who came to get a cup of punch during the song, and said, jokingly:

"You know, Cat hasn't dated anyone in a while."

"You are a dangerous person." Andre said, backing away from Tori.

Tori turned back to the kissing couple on the stage. They seemed totally engrossed in each other. Tori couldn't tear her eyes away, but as she watched, she found that she couldn't breathe, something had taken hold of her and she couldn't bear to watch them any longer.

She forced herself to turn away and to keep herself together as she rushed for the bathroom. She barely made it. She was gasping for breath and tears were streaming down her face as she closed the bathroom door behind her. She walked to the sinks, using one hand to steady herself. She had no idea why she was feeling this way. She should be happy that her friends were getting back together, and she was, or at least she thought she was, for a moment. Tori put it all aside and concentrated on breathing deeply. She was just about to get her emotions under control when the bathroom door opened and Jade came in with a smile still on her face. But she slowed a step when she saw Tori, surprised. Tori wiped her cheeks, trying to get rid of any signs that she'd been crying.

"What's wrong with you?" Jade asked.

Tori's temper flared inexplicably at Jade's tone. "Nothing, what do you care?" Tori said.

"I don't." Jade said, but Tori knew it was just an automatic response.

"Shouldn't you be outside making out with Beck?" Tori asked.

"I had to pee." Jade said. "Why are you crying?"

"I'm not crying." Tori insisted even as she sniffled. "Why can't you leave me alone?"

She couldn't take it anymore, she couldn't listen to Jade ask any more questions about why she's crying, especially when she didn't know the answer. What was worse was that Jade for once was caring about her, and it should be making her feel better just to know that, but it wasn't. Instead Tori just felt angry at Jade for asking so many questions. So Tori pushed past Jade and went out the bathroom, still sniffling, holding back tears.

* * *

Jade was bewildered. The one time she was trying to be nice to Tori voluntarily, and this is what she got. She would have gotten offended if it were just any other day, but she had just gotten back together with Beck, and she was feeling gracious, so she decided to let it slide.

She watched Tori storm out the bathroom, not knowing what made Tori so angry. She shook her head to get Tori's weirdness out of her head and was about to go into one of the stalls to pee, when Cat burst violently through the doors and stopped in front of Jade in the most aggressive posture she'd ever seen Cat take.

_"What have you done to Tori?"_ Cat demanded.

"Why do you assume I've done anything to her?" Jade demanded back, angry that sweet innocent Cat was treating her this way.

"Because the only other time I've seen Tori cry, _you_ were the cause."

Jade was surprised, she had never seen Tori cry before, not with all the times she's tried to make it happen.

"When was this?" Jade asked.

"Don't change the subject! You're the one who made her cry before, so this time it has to be you too."

That logic did not work for Jade. "Well I haven't done anything to her this time," she said defensively.

"You must've done _something_, even if you don't realize it." Cat said, letting out a frustrated groan. "Why can't you just be nice to her?" And quick as that, she stormed out.

Jade followed Cat out of the bathroom, feeling dazed, she wandered back to Beck and heard him ask:

"What's wrong?"

She told him what happened and asked him what he thought it was about.

"I don't know," Beck shrugged casually. "It's nice that you're starting to care about Tori, though. Can we go now?"

That reminded Jade why she went to the bathroom in the first place, Jade wanted to go to the bathroom before they went home, it was a bit of a long drive.

Jade turned around without a word and headed back to the bathroom.

"Where're you going?" Beck asked.

"I forgot to pee."

* * *

Over the next week or so, Jade's attention was focused almost solely on rebuilding his relationship with Beck. They had fallen quickly back into their old familiar pattern, but Jade noticed that things at school weren't quite the same now, she wasn't sure how they were different though, being with Beck felt like it did before, comfortable, safe, nothing had changed there, but her life at school was missing something.

Then at the cowboy luau, she was watching Tori and Andre perform, and she suddenly thought, _When was the last time Tori and I talked?_

She realized that it had been the night of the Full Moon Jam, when she found Tori crying in the bathroom. Since then, they've hardly exchanged a word, even though Jade was sure they sat at the same table with the others for lunch every day of the week. She also felt odd that she should miss talking to Tori, but she did. So when the song was over, she went up with Beck to talk with Tori and Andre.

"Hey, great song, _Andre_." Jade said, purposefully leaving Tori out to get a reaction from her. Andre nodded.

"Great job." Beck said to Tori.

"Thanks, _Beck._" Tori replied. And that was all the reaction Jade got out of her. Jade addressed both the singers after, but Tori just ignored her and left after barely a minute.

Over the next little while, Jade kept an eye out for how Tori was behaving. Tori seemed to act normally, but she never let Jade catch her alone, they were always with others of their little group. At lunch, they all sat at the same table, but Tori ignored Jade, refusing to meet her eyes. Even when Jade asked her a question, Tori would answer only with "Yes", "No", or "I don't know", and after the luau, Jade could count on one hand the times Tori gave her a real answer to a question and she would still have fingers left over. So, Jade was forced to the conclusion that Tori was avoiding her.

Jade tried talking to her, to figure out why Tori was doing this, but no one had any idea, and Tori herself would just refuse to be in her presence. Tori acted like she always did around everyone else, bright and happy as Cat though not as ditsy, but when Jade tried talking to her alone, she makes an excuse as soon as she could and runs away.

One morning, she caught Tori sleeping at the top of the stairs in the school, and thanked God for this chance. She took out a whistle and blew it in Tori's ear.

Tori woke up with a shout and rolled down the stairs.

"What…? What happened?" Tori said. "Was I sleeping?"

"You were." Jade replied.

"Did I hear a loud whistle?" Tori asked.

"No, you probably just dreamed it." Jade replied, and Tori seemed to actually believe her. "So why were you sleeping on the stairs?"

"'Cause, Andre stayed over at my house last night and he was playing the piano until four in the morning," Tori said. Jade turned and walked away, even though Tori kept talking.

"I wasn't done talking!" Jade heard Tori say as she opened her locker.

"I was done listening." Jade replied. She'd wanted Tori to complain to her about asking questions while not wanting to listen to the answer, but she didn't. Jade looked toward her, and found Tori was already gone, and some guy came over and made a joke about her picking her nose. She was mortified, and that drove out of her head all thoughts of Tori's avoiding her. She saw Beck and Cat across the hall and went over to them demanding to know who told.

The rest of her day was spent in misery, everywhere she went, she was laughed at. It seemed that everyone knew about the picture. Jade was seriously considering staying home the next day when Beck called. She told him that she might stay home today, and Beck said:

"We might be able to fix it."

Jade felt a surge of hope. "Really?" She asked.

"Yeah, it was Tori's idea," Beck said, and Jade's stomach did a funny lurch. "I was with her and Cat yesterday after school, and Cat was trying to cheer Tori up, and she mentioned that picture."

"Cat did _what_?" Jade yelled into the phone.

"It's not Cat's fault." Beck said. "She means well. And anyway, it didn't work. Tori didn't care about the picture."

"She didn't?" Jade was surprised, she couldn't decide whether it was good or bad that Tori wasn't interested in the picture. Was she not interested because she didn't care about Jade anymore? Or did she just not think Jade's embarrassment was funny? If it was the first, then it was bad, because, strangely, Jade wanted Tori to care about her.

"No," Beck was saying from the other end of the phone. "She didn't think it was funny, and she suggested we talk to Robbie or Sinjin to see if they could help get that picture taken down.

"So, if you're coming to school today, I promise I'll get them to help you get that picture taken down. But _only_ if you come to school today."

_That's blackmail._ Jade thought, "Okay, fine," She said with a groan.

They hung up, and Jade got out of bed, steeling herself to face the ridicule at school, however much longer she'd have to endure it before they fixed it.

"You are Jade West," She said to herself. "You will _not_ let a little embarrassment stop you from living your life. You don't care what people say anyways, their opinions of you don't matter. The only ones who do matter…"

_The only ones who do matter are the people who are helping you to take that picture down._ She finished in her head.

_And that includes Tori._ She added, then she went to the bathroom and looked in the mirror, took a deep breath, and felt she was ready for school.

That feeling lasted until she got to school. At the first sight of people laughing, she got suspicious, thinking they were laughing at that picture of her, and she chided herself for being embarrassed. _They might not even be looking at that picture._ She thought to herself. But she couldn't help being suspicious, and angry at herself for being so. She went through the day like that, and only relaxed a little when Sinjin and Robbie reassured her that the picture has been taken down and that they'd be able to take a new picture the next day.

The next day came, and Jade couldn't wait to be finally done with this ordeal, so as it neared 4:14, she went out with Beck, Robbie and Sinjin to the Asphalt Café and stood beside the table where she sat in the first picture. Beck started counting down, and Robbie was trying to shoo away a bee. Jade got ready, this one will be good, nothing embarrassing this time. Then Robbie happened, he tripped on his school bag while trying to escape the bee and crashed into her just as Beck said, "Now!"

_"NO!"_ Jade screamed. The satellite had caught her falling down with Robbie on top of her. She shoved Robbie off of her, and stood up, livid.

"Uh-oh." Beck said. "Jade? Look at me, calm down."

She couldn't. Robbie! How _dare_ he ruin this for her? She growled.

"Run, Robbie." Beck said.

Jade went after Robbie, but Beck caught her by the shoulders, and Robbie got up and ran away. Jade had never seen him run so fast before, and she struggled against Beck, trying to get free and after Robbie, screaming all the while. She struggled so hard that she and Beck both fell down, and by that time, Robbie had already fled the scene, and he could have gone anywhere, so Jade stopped trying to get away. She stopped struggling, and Beck asked:

"Are you calm now?"

"Yes." She lied.

"Okay." Beck let go, slowly, and Jade got up, walked around a few steps so she's out of Beck's reach, then ran after Robbie, screaming for him. She heard Beck shouting after her and she ignored him.

She spent an hour searching the school for Robbie, but she couldn't find him, he must have left as soon as he got away. So she gave up, and called Beck to find out where he was.

"I'm at home." Beck said.

"I'm coming over." She said, and hung up.

Beck was sitting in his trailer surfing the web when she arrived.

"What are you looking at?" She asked.

He showed her, he was looking at the new picture the satellite had taken of Hollywood Arts that afternoon. She had thought that she would have appeared to only have fallen down, which isn't a glamour shot like she'd wanted, but nowhere near as embarrassing as the one that made her seem like she's picking her nose. But instead, the pose in the new picture made it look like Robbie was kissing her while holding her in a dip, and Jade felt her anger, which had flagged on the drive to Beck's, surge to the surface again.

"So should I be jealous of you and Robbie?" Beck asked with a teasing smile.

_"This isn't funny!"_ Jade shouted.

"It's kind of funny." Beck argued.

_"No it's not!"_ Jade said, _"This is almost as bad as the first one!"_

Beck apparently couldn't see it, he thought it was funny, and he kept pushing her and pushing her, until she just exploded, and it turned into their first fight since they got back together.

_"It looks like I'm kissing Robbie!"_ Jade screamed for what seemed like the thousandth time in twenty minutes.

_"But you're not!" _Beck shouted back. _"You know that, I know that, so what's the big deal?"_

_"The big deal is you're not supposed to be making fun of me for it! You should be making me feel better, not teasing me. _Tori_ would know this."_

_"What does Tori have to do with this?"_

_"Nothing, but you could take lessons from her. She gets me, you don't!"_ And after that, Jade was just ranting:

_"She doesn't treat everything like a game, for one thing. She doesn't treat me like a child and send me to the corner when I say something sarcastic, and she knows when to fight back when I'm being mean to her…"_

_"How do I not fight back? What do you call what I'm doing right now?"_

_"She knows _WHEN_ to fight back, and when to take it and let me be a bitch. She knows how to win me over, every time I try to make her run screaming from me, she comes back and holds on tighter. That's what I want from you. Every time we have a fight and make up, I want to feel like I know you better, like I love you more than before we fought. I want you to know how to make me happy. Tori_ _would have known _not_ to tease me about the second picture because I'd already had enough with the first picture!"_

Beck apparently had nothing to say to that, he just stared at her, stunned, and Jade stared back. She was still angry, her breathing was fast and heavy, and a million things were going through her mind, too fast to be captured by her conscious mind. After a moment, she stormed out, got in her car and drove toward Tori's house.

In the car, she kept thinking about everything she'd said to Beck about Tori. She hadn't even known that she felt that way. She thought of everything she and Tori had been through since the first day they met, how Tori wormed her way into her life to become the single most important person in it. At that moment, Jade could imagine her life without Cat, without Andre, and she'd actually experienced life without Beck as her boyfriend, she could imagine life without her parents even, they weren't exactly close, after all, but she couldn't imagine her life without Tori anymore. And that made her feel completely terrified, as did the thought of Tori not being in her life.

She thought back to that first day, and the second day, and every day since, wondering how she got to this point. Everything she said to Beck was true: that first day they met, the very first day Tori was at Hollywood Arts, Jade made Tori bark like a dog and poured coffee in her hair to assert her dominance, but Tori refused to let Jade have the last laugh, she came back the next day and kissed Beck to get back at her. When Jade saw that, she thought, _At last, a worthy enemy_. Then, a couple weeks later, when Tori didn't tell on Jade for faking the black eye in the stage fighting and guilt Jade into helping her in her punishment, that was when Jade started to think of Tori as a friend, even though she wouldn't admit it for a long time, even to herself.

After that, everything Tori did served to latch her on to Jade's heart. Not even Beck knew as much about her as Tori did. For one thing, he doesn't truly know the problems in her relationship with her father, he knows that they're distant for people who live in the same house, but he didn't know how far apart they are, and how much Jade wanted his approval. But Tori knew, because she helped Jade put on "Well Wishes". Somehow, Tori had scaled every wall Jade had put up around her heart and found a place for herself where it's impossible for Jade to be rid of her. And Jade realized that she didn't want to be rid of her, which is why she's driving to Tori's house at that moment.

Someone was pounding on the door, and Tori rushed downstairs to get it open, it seemed urgent.

_"Vega!"_ Jade's voice shouted through the door. _"Get down here! We need to talk."_

Tori was surprised, she couldn't think of what Jade might want, they've had very little contact in the past few weeks, since Jade and Beck got back together really. She opened the door, and stepped back, surprised and a little scared of the furious look on Jade's face. Jade came in without being invited as always, but she came directly at Tori, so Tori had to keep stepping back so Jade doesn't crash into her. Jade slammed the door shut behind her.

"What's wrong, Jade?" Tori asked.

"Beck and I had a fight." Jade said. "And I've had enough, you've been avoiding me, I want to know why."

"I haven't been avoiding you…" Tori said, but Jade cut her off:

"Don't give me that crap! There's only been twice in the last two weeks where you didn't just blow me off with single word answers."

"What does that have to do with your fight with Beck?" Tori asked, confused.

"Nothing. Just answer the question, why have you been avoiding me?" Jade demanded.

"Well, I don't know." Tori said, she wasn't even sure what Jade was saying was true, she hadn't been _trying_ to avoid Jade. "But shouldn't you like it that I'm not annoying you anymore?" She asked defensively.

That seemed to make Jade flustered, "Yeah, well, this is _more_ annoying. So stop it!" Jade said.

"Um…okay." Tori said, she hadn't known that Jade cared so much.

"Are you just saying that to make me leave?" Jade asked.

"No." Tori answered. Jade's eyes narrowed suspiciously.

"I swear," Tori said in her most sincere voice, "I'll stop avoiding you."

"Okay, then." Jade said. "Now, who's your partner for the Theater History project coming up?"

Tori blinked at the shift in conversation topic, "I don't have one yet." She said.

"You do now." Jade said.

"You?" Tori asked.

Jade nodded.

"You _want_ to work with me?"

"I'm not going to let you just _say_ you'll stop avoiding me and not actually stop," Jade said. "Now you'll have no choice."

"Aww, does Jadey want to spend time with me?" Tori teased.

She could see the blush appear on Jade's cheeks when she said that. _That's so cute_, she thought, _She's pretty when she's blushing_.

"Don't call me Jadey." Jade growled.

Tori noticed that Jade didn't deny she wanted to spend time with her. She smiled, it felt good to know that Jade wanted to spend time with her. She hadn't even noticed that she'd been avoiding Jade. It was really an unconscious thing, but now that Jade pointed it out, she realized that Jade was right, she'd been avoiding her. She couldn't think why though.

"Okay," Tori said. "So why were you fighting with Beck?"

"It started with that stupid picture on PearMaps." Jade said.

Tori already knew some of it, but didn't know about the second picture, and when Jade told her about the fight with Beck, she was confused.

"How exactly did I get involved in this fight?" Tori asked.

"I don't know, somehow, you just came up." Jade said. She didn't seem to want to talk about it, and quickly moved off the topic. "The point is, I said that he didn't get me."

"Well, you've just recently gotten back together," Tori said, trying to comfort her. "Maybe you guys need a little time to get back into it, you know, get reacquainted."

"That's the thing though, we've been together for over two years before we broke up, he should know me by now, and he doesn't." Jade sighed. "I just don't know if it's such a good idea that we got back together."

That surprised Tori more than anything. "I thought that's what you wanted." She said.

"I thought so too," Jade said. "And when we first got back together, things seemed pretty good, but then, it didn't take long, just a few days, and things just went back to being normal."

"Isn't it good?" Tori asked. "That you went back to normal?"

"No, I mean, things were normal, like it didn't really matter whether I was with him or not. I mean, isn't love supposed to be more than just 'normal'? Aren't you supposed to think about them all the time when you're not with them? Isn't it supposed to be like you can't imagine your life without them?"

Tori never knew Jade was such a romantic at heart. She wondered if anyone else knew, but somehow didn't think so.

"I don't know," she said quietly. "I haven't really been in love before." She admitted. "But that's how I've always imagined it. Maybe it's just because you guys broke up and got back together, maybe the second time around is different from the first time."

"Maybe," Jade said, but Tori could see she wasn't convinced. "But after we broke up, I had just barely gotten over it when we got back together again. I just don't know if I love him the same way anymore."

They sat for a while, then Jade said, "It's late, I should go."

"Do you want to stay for dinner?" Tori asked impulsively.

Jade hesitated for a moment, then said, "No, that's okay, but I'll see you at school, we'll talk about the Theater History project."

Tori nodded. "Okay, 'bye then."

Jade nodded and left.

A/N: So how did I do with Tori Fixes Beck and Jade? Please review and tell me what you think.

P.S. You'll find out about the time Jade made Tori cry.


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: Victorious is created by Dan Schneider, and property of Nickelodeon.

Chapter 5

Tori kept her promise about not ignoring Jade anymore, but she still couldn't figure out why her subconscious had been making her avoid Jade. Jade and Beck seemed to have made up though, and everything seemed normal. In public, Jade was as mean to her as ever, and they didn't talk much in private. Tori had tried asking Jade, after she and Beck made up, if she still felt unsure about getting back together with him, but Jade refused to talk about it, even when she's sitting alone with Tori at lunch.

Still, everything was good when Tori got the news that she would be going on the new game show Brain Squeezers. Everyone wanted to be on her team to get on the show, bothering her all the time so that she wondered if it was worth the trouble. What was worse was that Jade pretended to be her when Tori didn't choose her. It made Tori frustrated and angry, even though at the same time, she thought it was funny that Jade wanted to be her.

The show was a disaster, everyone got punished and humiliated in the worst way, including Tori, who, even though she hasn't been doinked, was wracked with guilt for having gotten her friends into this mess.

"I thought it was just a gameshow, I'm sorry guys." Tori said as they took their places.

_"We're sorry you haven't been doinked!"_ Jade shouted at her.

The show was soon back on, and Tori thanked God that it was the last question, and to her amazement and relief, Cat got the question right. Tori thought they had won the money, but apparently that wasn't the case. She had to get to it by escaping from underneath a sumo wrestler. No matter how she struggled, she couldn't do it in under ten seconds.

But at least it's over now, she thought when the timer ended. But the sumo wrestler wouldn't let her up.

"Get comfortable, we're going to be here for a while." He said.

Tori struggled harder when she heard that. She was trapped for a good ten minutes when Jade walked out from back stage, all cleaned up. Tori had thought that everyone was gone already, but apparently Jade stayed.

"Hey, you can let her up now." Tori heard Jade say to the sumo wrestler.

"Nope, she's still got twenty minutes left on her doink." Said the sumo wrestler.

"The show's ended, nobody's watching anymore." Jade said.

"Yeah, well I don't get my paycheck if I let her up early." He replied.

Jade stuck her foot between his legs. "If you don't let her up by the time I count to three, my foot's going to make another visit there, and next time, I won't be so gentle. One, two,…"

And suddenly, Tori felt his weight lift off of her back. Tori got up, relieved. The sumo wrestler was backing away from Jade, whose glare could have set him on fire.

"Thanks." Tori said.

Jade nodded, "Come on, I'll take you home."

Along the way, Jade said, "Oh, and by the way, we're even now."

"Even?" Tori wasn't sure what Jade meant.

"For helping me with that thing after Alyssa Vaughn." Jade said. "I owed you for that. Now you owe me for this, so we're even now."

"Oh, sure." Tori said. She remembered the event, it was the first time Jade showed any kind of vulnerability. But she'd forgotten that Jade had said she owed her.

"I can't believe you remembered all this time." Tori said.

"Yeah, well you don't make it easy." Jade said. "I would've been out sooner if you'd just let me take you on that picnic."

Tori didn't know what Jade was talking about, "What picnic?" She asked.

"The one I planned when I offered to drive you to school when that movie was filming near your house and you had to take the long way around to school."

"You only offered so you could take me out to the desert to kill me." Tori said.

Jade looked at her, incredulous. "What? _That's_ what you thought?"

"What was I _supposed_ to think? You had a shovel in the back seat of your car, ready to bury me with, and you were singing that creepy music."

"I also had a picnic basket in the trunk. And for your information, the music was the theme from _The Scissoring_, and the shovel was from when my father went on a tree planting thing to show off how environmentally friendly his company was."

"Really?" Tori asked. She couldn't tell if Jade was telling the truth.

"Yes."

"Then why all the way out in the desert? And why didn't you just tell me?"

"I wanted it to be a surprise. As for why in the desert, everyone knows you're my mortal enemy, and we only hang out because of mutual friends. I couldn't appear to actually _like_ you. I mean, I do have a reputation." Jade smiled at her when she said this.

"Oh, then, I guess I'm sorry I didn't trust you." Tori said.

"You should be." Jade grumbled, and Tori smiled at that.

They arrived at Tori's house, and Tori said:

"Do you want to come in? We could finish the Theater History project. It's due on Monday, and I don't think we should leave it 'til tomorrow."

Jade shrugged, "Yeah, alright."

They went in, got out their stuff and Tori put the playlist from her PearPhone on shuffle as they set to work. The project was to present on an aspect of the history of theater that they didn't talk about in class. Tori and Jade had agreed to do it on classical Greek theater. They had made a model of what the theater looked like in Ancient Greece and they'd present the basic structure of a Greek tragedy.

It took them a few hours to finish, and when they were done, they both let out a sigh of relief and sagged down in their chairs. They just sat for a while, resting, when Tori heard the song by Jon McLaughlin, "So Close", come on drifting through the speakers. She glanced at Jade, who didn't seem to recognize it.

"Do you remember this song?" Tori asked.

Jade looked at her, "Sure, from that movie that Cat loves so much, the one with Amy Adams."

Tori nodded, a little disappointed that that was all Jade remembered about it. "Yeah." She said.

"And it's the song we danced to at the prom." Jade said, finishing her thought.

Tori's heart seemed to skip a beat when Jade said that.

"Yeah, and you ruined it with your stupid prank." She complained.

"You screwed me over, having your prom on the same day as my play." Jade argued.

"But I thought we were done getting back at each other. We were having fun, _you_ certainly looked like you were having fun, and you had to go ruin it again." Tori said.

"It was a booby-trap on a timer, I didn't know when I set it up that I would change my mind and _not_ want to sabotage the rest of it."

"You still ruined it." Tori complained, but it did make her feel a little better to know that Jade was having fun at the end.

Jade rolled her eyes and stood up, "If it means that much to you to dance with me, fine, the same song's playing, so we'll dance right now." She said, holding a hand out to Tori.

"Are you serious?" Tori asked incredulously.

"If you don't want to, then stop blaming me for interrupting that dance."

_She wants me to back down._ Tori thought, _but I'll show her._

"Okay, I _will_ dance." Tori said. "And you know what? We're gonna dance through the whole song."

She went to her PearPhone and jumped back to the beginning of the song, then went back to Jade and held her arms up, looking at Jade challengingly. She was expecting Jade to back down. Originally, there was only a minute or so left of the song, but now that she jumped back to the beginning, she thought Jade would refuse to dance through the whole thing, but she didn't. Jade didn't say anything, she just stepped up and put her hands on Tori's waist, while Tori put her arms around Jade's neck.

_You're in my arms, and all the world is calm._ The singer came on, and they began to sway to the music, just like they did on Prome. That time, it was raining, Sikowitz had set his pile of tires on fire and Doug the Diaper Guy had carried Jade off after Tori declared them Prome King and Queen. After a while, the rain had weakened to a drizzle and the party had wound down a little, only half of the people who had showed up were left, and most of them were couples, dancing together to the songs playing on Tori's PearPad. And Jade had come back. Tori saw her marching up and held her position.

"Have you had enough, Jade?" She asked.

"You're gonna regret that Vega." Jade hissed.

Tori rolled her eyes, tired of the feud. "Come on, Jade! Can't you just try and have a little fun without trying to destroy the event? Just go dance or something."

"And who am I supposed to dance with? Beck's in Canada!" Jade raged.

Tori sighed, but an idea suddenly came into her head, "Okay, you know what? I forgot to bring a date too, so you'll dance with me."

Jade certainly wasn't expecting that, judging by the look on her face, Tori almost laughed, but instead, she just grabbed Jade's wrist and dragged her to the dance floor.

"What? Are you serious?" Jade asked.

"Yep." Tori said, popping the "p".

But as they found their place on the dance floor, the song that was playing ended, and Jade said:

"Aw, too bad, the song's over, guess we can't." And she started to walk away, but Tori stopped her, saying:

"No, we'll just dance to the next song."

The next song was "So Close", and Jade said, "Are you sure? This is a slow one."

Tori gave her a determined look and put her hands on Jade's shoulders. Jade didn't resist her, she put her hands on Tori's waist and they began to dance. They were both a little awkward at first, and Tori was very self-conscious of the way her dress, wet from the rain, clung to her body, but after about a minute, she relaxed, and felt Jade relax too as they continued to sway to the music. Tori could feel Jade's breath on her cheeks, and thought, _Should we be so close?_ She didn't know how to feel about dancing with another girl, much less Jade West, with whom she'd always had a sort of love-hate relationship. She wondered if they were drawing attention, being two girls dancing together. Sure, Hollywood Arts was a liberal and progressive art school, but still, homosexual relationships weren't exactly common. Tori had to remind herself that she and Jade were not in a relationship. The rain had weakened even more, and was now drizzling down in a fine mist, making the lights around the Asphalt Café blur, giving the whole place an otherworldly look. Tori could feel Jade's skin, cool beneath her hands, and all she could see was Jade's eyes, dark in the night, gazing into hers, her skin, pale and smooth, and her red lips, full and luscious. Tori's mouth suddenly felt dry, so she swallowed to work some moisture in there, and licked her lips.

Suddenly, someone screamed. Tori jumped. She looked toward the source of the screams and saw burning tires rolling around the Asphalt Café. A bowling ball tied to a rope had swung down and knocked over Sikowitz's pile of burning tires, sending the flaming rubber rolling after the students who were still here. Tori looked at Jade, and saw shock and guilt on her face, but not surprise.

"Did you do this?" Tori asked.

Jade looked even more guilty, "I'm sorry." She said.

Tori felt tears welling up in her eyes, she ran into the school and hid in the girls' bathroom, she felt hurt and betrayed, which didn't make sense, but she couldn't help it. She was crying when Cat found her and asked what's wrong. She told her about Jade's prank and Cat said something completely irrelevant, which made Tori smile, and after that, she felt a little better, thinking about tonight's fiasco, that's just Jade being Jade.

_Jade seemed really sorry about it though,_ Tori thought as she danced with Jade in her living room. She hadn't noticed it at the time, but when Jade apologized for the prank, she seemed truly sorry, and to Tori's knowledge, Jade has never said sorry and meant it before. _Maybe she was only sorry because it interrupted our dance._ Tori thought, then blushed at what it meant.

She came back to the present, and looked for a clue in Jade's expressions to what she was feeling. Jade seemed calm, serene, and completely present in the moment. Again, Tori was struck by how beautiful Jade looked, her dark hair framing her face, her skin as pale as ever, her eyes, in the bright fluorescent light, seemed somewhere between green and blue like two bottomless wells of water. They made Tori feel like everything else didn't matter, as if it's just the two of them in the whole world. Tori felt like Jade was seeing into her soul, the way she was looking at her. She became embarrassed, and looked down, only to see Jade's chest and her cleavage, and suddenly, she was much too aware of Jade's body pressed against hers, and her cheeks felt on fire. Tori quickly raised her eyes again, but she didn't dare look into Jade's eyes again, so she settled for looking at Jade's lips. Only now did she realize that the music had stopped, and Jade was still holding her. Tori's breath quickened, her heart pounded in her chest, she could smell Jade's scent, a mix of vanilla and mint. Tori noticed that Jade wasn't wearing lipstick this time, not like she did on Prome, but her lips still looked soft and moist, full and inviting. Tori wondered what they tasted like, so she leaned in, and…

"_Oh my God!_" Trina's voice interrupted them.

Tori stumbled backwards as Jade seemed to throw her almost across the room, but when she looked, she and Jade were only a couple steps away from each other. Tori saw Trina standing at the foot of the stairs with her mouth open. Tori glanced at Jade just as Jade was glancing toward her, their eyes met, and Tori immediately looked away, embarrassed.

"Well, the project's finished, so I guess I'll be going." Jade said, grabbing her stuff.

"Okay, I'll see you at school." Tori replied, watching her sister watch Jade rush out the door. Only when the door closed behind Jade did Trina finally come into the living room and grab Tori's arm.

_"Oh my God!"_ Trina repeated. _"You like Jade!"_

"No I don't, that's ridiculous!" Tori said.

"You were almost _kissing_ her!"

Tori groaned, Trina had noticed, there was no denying it now. "I know! I don't know how it happened either, but she just looked so pretty and sweet…"

"Sweet? Are you _kidding_ me?" Trina asked. "It's _Jade_! She's mean and vicious with disturbing psychological problems."

Tori frowned, that sounded a lot like what she said to Andre when he was crushing on Jade.

"She's not mean and vicious, she's just a little sarcastic and very honest about her opinions."

"But she's mean to _everyone_. Even you, _especially_ you!"

Tori shrugged, "Not _every_one… at least, not all the time." She said.

"What about all the crap she's pulled? When she pretended to get a black eye just to get you in trouble? Or when she ruined the Prome and destroyed my chances of being Prome Queen? On you _very first day_ at Hollywood Arts, she poured _coffee_ on you head! How can you like her after that?"

Tori smiled wistfully at the memories, and shrugged, "I don't know…" And Trina slapped her on the arm:

"_Oh my God!_ You like it when she's mean to you!"

Tori blushed, "Well,… I mean, it was frustrating at the time, but now that I look back on it, it was kind of fun to butt heads with her. Besides, that just makes the times she's nice special."

"When was _Jade_ ever _nice_?"

The first thing Tori thought of was her brief career as a stunt double, when Jade convinced Beck to take the fall for her. But she wondered if it was a good idea for her to answer that question, because if Jade ever found out she told people about her being nice, Jade would probably do something not so nice to her involving scissors.

The door opened, and their mom came in, saving Tori from having to answer.

"What's going on kids?" She asked.

"Tori's in love with Jade!" Trina said accusingly.

"Trina!"

"That mean girl who looks like she's a vampire?" Their mother asked.

Tori was terrified of what her mother might say after Trina blurted it out, but whatever she was expecting, that was not it.

"Mom, is that all you have to say?" Trina asked, "Tori's in love with someone who's never been nice to her the entire time they've known each other – and who's a girl by the way – and all you have to say is that she looks like a vampire?"

"Trina, can I talk to Tori alone please?" Their mom said.

"Yes, good, that's a good idea, talk some sense into her." Trina said, going back upstairs.

"Tori, do you have something to tell me?" her mom said when they were alone.

"What? No! Trina's just being crazy."

"So you're _not _in love with Jade?"

"No!" Tori said.

"Then why would Trina think you are?" her mother asked.

Tori looked down, embarrassed, "I…might have been _about_ to kiss her."

"So you _are_ in love with her?"

"No! I mean, I think…there's a _chance_ I might like her as more than a friend, but I don't know if I'm _in love_ with her."

"Mm-hmm. Well, I always thought you two had great chemistry."

"Really?" Tori asked. Her mom nodded. "And… you're not mad or disappointed or whatever that I might like a girl?"

"No, not at all, your father and I, we love you no matter what. We're open-minded people, I even had a lesbian experience or two back when I was in college, I remember this one girl…."

Tori realized what was coming, "Oh God! Eww, mom!" She got out of there before her mother could finish her sentence.

* * *

When Tori showed up at school on Monday, she'd had time to think about her feelings for Jade and what she should do about it. She had went over in her head everything she'd gone through with Jade, everything that was fun and frustrating, bitter and sweet, and every moment when Jade was vulnerable and came to her for help, those times, she found, she had secretly treasured. But now, knowing her feelings, she could see why she did some of the things she did when she helped Jade. She'd wanted Jade to be happy. And she figured out why she was crying uncontrollably and angry when Jade tried to help on the night Beck and Jade got back together. It was _because_ they got back together, and she was jealous, but it wasn't of Jade, she was jealous of Beck. She couldn't help feeling hurt when she saw Jade happily kissing Beck, even if she didn't realize herself that that was the reason. And in the end, Tori decided that if Jade was happy with Beck, then she wouldn't tell Jade about her feelings, because it wouldn't do anyone any good. _She's with Beck_, she had thought, late last night. _And she's happy. Besides, she'll probably just make fun of you if you tell her._ Tori wasn't sure if she really believed that Jade would make fun of her if she found out about Tori's feelings, but it made it easier for her to accept that Jade was with Beck.

Tori really thought, on Monday when she came in to school, that she would be okay to see Jade, but when she saw Jade coming down the hallway with Beck beside her, she found that she was seeing Jade in this new light and she had to stuff her feelings down and make an effort not to make googly eyes at Jade.

"Hey." Beck was the first to greet her.

"Hey." Tori replied, thinking, _If I knew how I felt about Jade when you were trying to date Meredith, I wouldn't have paid Gilbert to ask her out, I would've done it myself._ But of course, she didn't know if she really would have had the courage to ask Jade out even if she had known. After all, she didn't know if Jade was interested in girls that way, much less her, whom Jade had always made a point to be extra mean to.

"Hey, you got the model?" Jade asked.

"Yep, got it right here." Tori said, forcing herself to act natural and holding up the bag in which she carried their model.

"Good." Jade nodded, "Guess I'll see you in class then. Just don't be late."

Tori watched her walk off with Beck and took a deep breath. _She'll never like you that way, accept it._ She thought to herself. It was only now that she truly resigned to just being friends with Jade.

A/N: There you have it, Tori's figured it out. Now we only have to wait for Jade to figure it out. Won't be long now. I'm planning on finishing the writing part today. I'm on what I'm pretty sure is the last chapter, but there might be an epilogue coming too. Hope you guys like this chapter, please review, tell me what you think.


	6. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: Victorious is created by Dan Schneider, property of Nickelodeon

A/N: Update on the progress of the story: I've finished writing the story, including the Epilogue, but it still needs a few touch-ups, I'll post them as soon as I can. Just a warning, not a lot happens in this chapter, but it's the chapter based on the last episode of the TV show, so I wanted to put it in there just to connect the end of the show with what's going to happen in the future chapters when it's all essentially my own plotlines.

Chapter 6 

Jade sat with her laptop watching a recording of Beck's streamchat where he was washing his car with his shirt off. Sinjin told her about it when she went to him to get him to hack into the Slap again and change Trina's number of followers back. She really shouldn't have cared, but Trina Vega having that many followers just wasn't natural, even if nine hundred of them didn't exist. While Sinjin was doing this, he mentioned his visit to Tori's house, and he kept calling her one of the "main people" for some weird reason, Jade too. Jade let him so long as he did what she told him to do. It wasn't the weirdest thing to come out of Sinjin's mouth.

Sinjin had mentioned off-hand how closely Tori watched Beck's live streamchat, which prompted Jade to go and look for it online, but she either didn't have the time to watch it before now, or she'd forgotten. So Jade is only watching that video now, weeks after their competition for Slap followers. Strangely, she didn't see what the big deal was. Sure, Beck was pretty, but there was nothing interesting about it. _Or about him,_ Jade thought. She didn't feel jealous that her boyfriend was using his looks to get more followers. She had been finally over Beck after they broke up. It took her a while, but she did it. And now they were back together, but she's not back to where they were before the break up. She felt no more passion, no more jealousy when Beck attracted interested looks from other girls.

She had thought they were okay at first, but things seemed to sputter after a while. Then there was that fight, and Beck had apologized for making fun of her for that second satellite picture. She had accepted his apology, and they'd made up, but since then, after she confessed her doubts to Tori about getting back together with Beck, her doubts seem to just grow and spread, and she couldn't help but be a little distant from Beck. Beck hadn't noticed, but he should have.

Adding to the confusion was Tori, who was always there for her, and ever since they had the dance in Tori's living room, which Jade didn't dare dwell on, whenever Jade was alone with her, she felt relaxed, like she didn't have to hide who she was. It was a feeling she never felt before, even when she and Beck were at their best.

"Hey, this seems like a lot of pizza dough, are you sure you read me the recipe right?" Tori asked from the kitchen.

"Yeah, I said four cups of flour." Jade replied.

"You said four _pounds_ of flour!" Tori said.

"Oh, I meant four cups." It was an honest mistake, sort of.

"Oh great, will you get up off your butt and help me make this stupid pizza?"

The doorbell rang, Jade got up and opened the door. It was the pizza she ordered when she first got to Tori's. She hadn't expected Tori to actually take her seriously about the home-made pizza. It was just something she made up on the spot for Beck's benefit. She got the money from Tori to pay the delivery guy and slammed the door in his face. She put the pizza down on the living room table, and Tori finally gave up on making pizza herself and sat down on the other side.

Trina came down, bragging about her stupid show, and Jade picked up a slice of pizza just as Trina revealed her pimple. Jade gagged at the sight of it, she dropped her pizza, she did not want to eat so soon after seeing that. Trina begged them to pop it for her, and Tori asked with an evil smile on her face:

"Jade, will you please pop Trina's shoulder pimple?"

"No, I will not…"

Tori interrupted her, imitating Sikowitz: "Is someone being a Negative Nancy? Or a Whiney Willy?"

"No, you cannot make me…"

Tori interrupted her again, it was getting annoying, "We made a deal with Sikowitz. Should I tell our whole class you couldn't handle it?"

Jade stared murderously at her. This is such an over-reaction to the twenty bucks I took for pizza, Jade thought.

"Will someone just _please_ pop my pimple?" Trina said.

"Will you, Jade?" Tori said.

Jade had no choice, she didn't want to back down from the challenge, "Yes." She said.

It was horrible, but at least it was done with quickly and she heard Trina go out the door.

"What's wrong?" Tori asked. Jade could hear the amusement in her voice.

"Some _goo_ got in my eye!" Jade shouted angrily.

She heard Tori laugh.

"Get me a napkin!" Jade demanded.

She heard Tori laugh again and say, "Okay, okay, hold on."

A moment later, the couch cushion sank beside her and she felt Tori take her hand and gently wipe her eyes with a wet paper napkin. She was very thorough.

"Better?" She heard Tori ask, and Jade could feel her breath when Tori spoke. Jade opened her eyes. They were very close, as close as they had been when they danced here a few weeks ago. Tori was staring at her in her frilly pink apron with the gentlest, most caring look on her face. Jade stared back, and felt her anger at being forced to pop Trina's pimple evaporate. Tori was still holding her hand, and Jade felt Tori's thumb caressing the back of her hand. Jade's heartbeat quickened, it terrified her, this feeling she was getting, her arm moved in an involuntary spasm, and Tori let go of her hand and got up to throw the napkin in the garbage, looking a little flustered. Jade pretended everything was normal and got up too and went to the bathroom to wash her hands and face with a lot of soap to get rid of any pus that might be left, and she used a lot of hand sanitizer afterwards, just to be sure.

* * *

Tori was channel surfing when Jade came out of the bathroom.

"Had enough Jade?" Tori said without even turning her head.

"How'd you know it was me?" Jade asked.

"We're the only ones here." Tori said.

Jade grunted. She saw something on the channel that Tori just flipped away from.

"Wait, wait, go back." Jade said.

Tori flipped back.

"Further."

Tori did as she asked, but she flipped back too far, on purpose, Jade was sure.

"No, the one before." Jade said. "You know which channel I want, Tori, will you please go to that channel?"

Tori groaned, "Fine." She said, and switched to the channel where Jade saw Tori on the television, talking to Chris Burm.

"Do we have to watch this?" Tori whined.

"Yes. I haven't seen it yet." Jade answered, sitting down on the couch and taking up a slice of pizza.

Tori's head whipped toward her, "Really?"

"Yeah, 'cause Cat was living at the school and I had to get her to move in with her Nona the night this was on."

Jade's view of the TV was suddenly blocked by Tori, who was standing right in front of her. Jade looked up at her.

"Will you please move?" Jade said, putting her free hand on Tori's waist and pushing her sideways.

Chris Burm was just finishing describing the prank he was about to pull on Tori and the re-run went to commercial.

"Come on, Jade!" Tori begged. Jade liked it when she did that. "You don't really have to see this do you?"

"Yes, I do." Jade insisted. "So can you just stop complaining until we finish watching this?" She knew that Tori was bound by their agreement with Sikowitz, so she can't refuse.

The show came back on, and Tori's performance began. She sounds great, Jade thought, glancing over at Tori on the couch, who was staring at the TV screen with absolute dread on her face. In the final moments of the song, Chris Burm pressed the detonator, and instead of blowing up a toy dog stuffed with spaghetti in Tori's face, he blew himself into the ceiling of the set of his own show.

"We'll be right back." Said the Tori on TV.

Jade burst out laughing. She heard Tori groan on the couch and laughed even harder.

"Beck told me what he and Andre did, but I can't believe how funny it actually is." She said through bursts of laughter.

"It's not funny." Tori said. "That show was a disaster."

"Why? You didn't sound _that_ bad." Jade said.

"Did you not notice that the host just blew himself sky high?"

"Would you have preferred it if he blew up a dog-ful of spaghetti in your face?"

"No."

"Then what's the problem?"

"'Cause now people are going to think I'm cursed, and something bad'll happen if they invite me to sing." Tori said. "I mean, look at the facts: Northridge basketball team invited me to sing at their game, and I get dragged around by a dog before the song's over, and when I went on the Chris Burm show, their host gets blown up and ends up in hospital."

Jade laughed, she hadn't known that Burm landed in the hospital for the prank.

"Stop laughing!" Tori said. "The point is, no one is ever going to invite me to sing for them ever again."

"Come on, those things aren't your fault." Jade said. "Burm did it to himself, and you finished the national anthem at the basketball game even though you were being dragged around by a giant St. Bernard, I actually thought that was pretty impressive."

"Really?" Tori asked.

Jade nodded. Tori smiled. "It would've been more impressive if you sang the melody right too, but still." Jade added.

Tori rolled her eyes at that, but Jade thought she looked like she was feeling better about it.

They turned back to the TV and found something else to watch while they ate. When they were done, Celebrities Under Water had come on, and Jade said:

"Can we watch anything else?"

"You don't like Celebrities Under Water?" Tori asked.

"No, because they make you think the celebrities are going to drown, but they never do." Jade said angrily, she always felt that the showrunners betrayed the audience by never drowning the celebrities.

"Let's see what else is on." Tori said with a sigh.

"Go to the guide."

"I know how to do it." Tori said, picking up the remote.

Tori searched through the menu, and that was when Jade saw it, _Divertissimo_. The show Trina was bragging about. She made Tori go to it and saw that what Trina described as "high-quality television" with "top notch acting" was really a children's pantomime and Trina was a piece of cheese.

They can only take a few seconds of that show, it was so bad, but Jade simply _cannot_ pass up the opportunity to make fun of Trina.

"What studio does she film at?" Jade asked.

"Hollywood Bronson," Tori answered. "Why?"

"Shall we go down there and pay Trina a little visit?" Jade asked in her "Sikowitz" voice.

Jade noticed there was a gleeful light in Tori's eyes when she replied, also in her Sikowitz voice: "Indeed we shall."

They walked out to Jade's car and got in. Along the way, Jade noticed Tori was quite excited to catch Trina in the lie and make fun of her for it. Jade had noticed before that Tori and her were really similar in some ways, aside from the talent. They were both very tough, didn't let anyone push them around, and they both had a propensity to play mean pranks. Granted, Tori rarely ever makes the first move, Jade thought, but when she's pushed, she always retaliates in a way that makes Jade very proud, because it's always something like what Jade would do. Like the time they drove Cat to San Diego and Tori gave Jade a muffin she found under the car seat just because Jade said Tori was boring. Jade had done almost the exact same thing, but with a coffee she found in a garbage can instead of a car-muffin. She'd found out that Tori had given that coffee to Trina afterwards. Jade smiled when she remembered that, and she glanced at Tori in the passenger seat. _Ah, the good old days,_ Jade thought. That was when they were still rivals. They had some great times back then. But then again, things weren't exactly boring even now, Jade thought as they pulled up to the studio.

The guard at the gate asked who they were, and Jade gave their names, saying:

"We're here to see Trina Vega. That's her sister." She pointed to Tori.

The guard asked them to sign in, which they did, and Jade drove the car through and found the parking lot. They asked one of the people on the grounds which studio Divertissimo was being filmed in tonight, and followed the directions in.

They were finishing up a take inside, and the director told everyone to take "cinco". _You'd think they'd stick to a single language,_ Jade thought, _at least in the same sentence._

They walked out as Trina came down from the stage.

"That was a great scene, Trina." Tori said, clapping.

"Really high quality television." Jade said.

"Top notch acting." Tori added.

_"Why are you here? Get out!"_ Jade could see Trina's embarrassment, and she can't help but grin.

"No, we want to watch you act." Tori said.

"Yeah," Jade agreed, "Did the lady Cheese-boob get away from the hungry Mice-Children?"

Just then, the director came over and asked Trina who they were.

"That's my mean sister Tori and her rude friend."

"Hey!" Jade shouted, "Do not call me her friend!" She said, just for consistency's sake, after all, they've been not-friends for so long now, Jade wasn't sure how she'd feel if that changed.

"Well, whoever these _siñoritas _are, you're both _muy_ pretty."

"Thank you." Tori said.

"_Gracias._"

"We're just visiting." Tori said.

Then he asked Tori if she would like to be in the next scene. Tori tried to refuse, but Jade couldn't help but remind her of their deal with Sikowitz, and Tori reluctantly accepted. Jade smirked gleefully, until Tori said, point at Jade:

"Can she be in it too?"

Jade cursed herself for not letting Tori get out of this. She had just been thinking on the drive here how alike she and Tori were, she should have known that Tori would retaliate. But now she had painted herself into a corner, so she didn't even try to get out of it, and just took a deep breath and agreed.

* * *

Jade ended up chasing one of the Mice-children with a giant plastic fork, and the producers had to stop filming. They got kicked off of the set, which suited Jade just fine.

_"You just had to come ruin it for me didn't you?"_ Trina shouted at Tori when they were out on the lot, she had been kicked off the show as well. _"This is one of the few opportunities that's come my way this past year and you just had to destroy it! It's not enough that you succeed, you had to see me fail!"_

Jade couldn't believe what she was hearing, and one look at Tori's guilt-ridden face made her shove Trina on the shoulders and step in between the sisters.

_"Leave her alone!"_ Jade said. _"I'm the one who ruined the take and lost you your job, so blame me, not her. And how could you say she wanted to see you fail? Tori's not that kind of person."_

_"She brought you here, so it's her fault!" _Trina shouted.

"If I get you your job back, will you stop blaming her?"

"Sure, why the hell not? I'll stop blaming her if you get me my job back, as if you can."

"Just watch me." Jade said. She turned and went back into the studio.

The producers were just getting ready for another take.

"Hey, producer guys!" Jade yelled.

Everyone looked at her, and the producers called for security.

"Just listen, I came here to apologize." Jade said as the security guards rushed over, but the producers signaled them to wait, and Jade continued, "I'm sorry for causing all that trouble, but you shouldn't punish Trina for it, it's not her fault that we showed up, so," Jade grimaced at the next part, "Please don't fire her. She loves this job, she loves your show, knowing that her work is bringing happiness to Mexican children."

Jade let out a breath of relief when she finished, this was one of the hardest lies she's ever had to tell, she didn't know anything about Trina, but it seemed that it worked, because the producer thought for a second and muttered to himself:

"I guess, if we fired her, we'd have to re-cast, and who knows how long _that'll_ take." Then he asked Jade, "Trina really loves this show?"

Jade put on a straight face, "Yes."

The producer let out a long breath, "Alright, you can tell Trina she can keep her job. Tell her to come to work tomorrow, usual time."

"Great." Jade said, genuinely relieved.

"You have no idea how difficult it is to cast this show," the producer added. "Virtually no one is crazy enough to audition for it."

Jade suppressed a laugh, and said in her most sincere voice, "Thank you." Then she left.

She went back out into the lot where the Vega sisters were waiting, she told Trina that she still had her job, but that she was done for the day. Trina looked impressed, saying, "Good job, Jade."

"So you'll lay off your sister now, understand? And if I ever hear you say another bad thing about her…" She took out her scissors, snapped it twice and let Trina draw her own conclusions as to what she meant.

"Fine, fine, I'm sorry I blamed you, Tori." Trina said placatingly.

Jade grabbed Tori's hand and dragged her toward her car. "Come on, I'll take you home."

"I could go with Trina, you know, and save you a trip." Tori said.

"Don't argue with me!" Jade said. "I'm taking you home, and that's final."

They walked along in silence toward where they parked the car, then Tori said, "It was nice what you did for Trina."

"I didn't do it for her." Jade said curtly. She glanced at the half-latina girl. A smile was spreading across Tori's face. Jade felt Tori squeeze her hand and realized that they were still holding hands. _I should let go of her hand,_ Jade thought, but instead she just squeezed back, feeling a little wonky inside.


	7. Chapter 7

Disclaimer: Victorious is property of Nickelodeon and created by Dan Schneider

A/N: A lot to say about this chapter, first of all, this chapter was the hardest for me to write (and I'm still not completely satisfied), because I wasn't sure how it all would go down. I hope I did okay with it. Second, Beck is a huge asshole in this chapter, and I did that on purpose, I gave him a moment of being a jerk in one of the previous chapters for this story (chapter 2, I think, where Beck makes a comment about Tori kissing Daniel) and I hope that hinted at Beck's true character. The reason I did this is a) because I needed Jade to _really_ realize that Tori has always been there for her, taking her a long way to realizing what her feelings for Tori were, and b) I had a problem with Beck since The Worst Couple, where he says to Jade "We were voted worst couple, and the other two weren't even real couples, **and one had Robbie in it**." I had a big problem with that comment about Robbie, so I made it into a thing about his character. I still have a few more comments about the chapter, but I'll leave them for after the main story. Enjoy.

Chapter 7

"So how was your playdate with Sinjin last night?" Jade teased Beck at school the next day.

"It wasn't that bad, actually." He replied. "He actually knows a lot about racing, he's pretty cool."

"Hey racing buddy." Sinjin appeared out of nowhere.

Beck turned around, "Oh, hey Sinjin." He said.

"It was cool hanging with you last night," Sinjin said. "You want to hang out after school today?"

"Oh no, I can't, I have plans with Jade." Beck said.

Jade didn't know what Beck was talking about, they didn't have any plans, but she didn't say anything because she didn't know why Beck would lie.

"That's too bad." Sinjin said, disappointed.

"Yeah," Beck said with a regretful shrug, "We gotta get to class, so we'll see you later, alright?"

"Sure." Sinjin said.

Beck wrapped his arms around Jade's waist and led her away.

"How was your night making pizza with Tori?" Beck asked.

"It was fine." Jade said, still trying to figure out what happened with Sinjin. "Why did you tell Sinjin we had plans?"

"I didn't want to hurt his feelings." Beck said.

"By telling him you didn't want to hang out with him?" Jade asked, slipping out of Beck's arm and turning to face him. "I thought you said he was cool."

"Well, I mean, it's cool that he knows so much about racing," Beck explained. "But everyone knows he's the weirdest kid in school."

Jade looked at the boy before her, it was suddenly like she was seeing a stranger, she had always thought Beck was a good guy, a nice guy, but nice guys don't lie and blow off their new friends like that. She was very disappointed in him.

"What?" Beck asked.

"It's just… you're not the guy I thought you were."

"What are you talking about?"

"I just didn't think you were the kind of guy who cared about what other people thought about his friends."

"I don't." Beck said.

"It looks like you do." Jade said, turning toward class, but Beck stopped her.

"Why do you care so much whether I befriend Sinjin?" Beck asked.

"Because the guy I fell in love with wouldn't blow off a guy he thinks is cool just because everyone else thought him weird!" Jade said furiously. She realized she was raising her voice too, but didn't bother controlling herself. "I didn't know I was dating a hypocrite."

"_I'm_ a hypocrite?" Beck said loudly, but he stopped himself, looked around and dragged Jade into the janitor's closet.

"_I'm_ a hypocrite?"He repeated, not really bothering to keep his voice down now. _"What about you and Tori? How is what I'm doing any different from what you do to Tori?"_

"Because I still hang out with her, I only _say_ she's not friend."

_"It still makes you a hypocrite!"_ Beck shouted. _"Because you do something different from what you say."_

_"Okay, fine!"_ Jade said. _"I admit it then, Tori's my friend. Now I'm not a hypocrite anymore. Are you going to stop being a hypocrite too?"_

Beck groaned, "_Why_ are we having this conversation?"

"So that's a no then?" Jade said dryly, but Beck ignored her, saying:

"Why does this _bother_ you so much? Don't we have enough social charity cases in our little group?"

" 'Social charity cases?'" Jade asked in a quiet but dangerous voice, and Beck seems to realize that he said something he shouldn't have. "You mean Robbie?"

Beck didn't answer. Jade took it for a yes.

" 'Cases,'" Jade said, "Plural. Who else do you think needs your 'cool-guy charity?'"

Again, Beck remained silent. But Jade could guess, "Cat?" She asked.

Beck sighed. She took that for a yes as well.

_"How could you think that about our friends?"_ Jade shouted.

_"Robbie was a nerdy little guy with a puppet and no friends, and Cat's an insane little child! They would've gotten killed in the school's war for social dominance if I hadn't taken pity on them!"_

_"They don't need your pity!"_ Jade roared at him. _"Robbie is smarter than anyone we know, and Cat has more talent in her cute little button nose than you have in your whole body!"_

Beck didn't like that, his mouth twisted in an ugly expression of anger and embarrassment, and he said, "Don't act like you care about them, you said yourself you only tolerate Robbie, and Cat's basically a pet to you."

Jade looked at her on-again-off-again boyfriend for the past two and a half years, and said, "If you think that _that's_ what I really think, then you don't know me as well as Tori does." She sighed, suddenly exhausted. "And after so long…." She sighed again.

"I don't think this is going to work out."

"Are we seriously doing this again?" Beck asked incredulously. "What's the point? A few days, a few months, you know you're just going to come crawling back again."

Jade raised an eyebrow. She couldn't believe his nerve, saying that. Her natural reaction was to throw his words in his face and say that last time, it was he who went crawling back to her, but she restrained herself.

"No, not this time." She said instead, and she meant it. Everything that had come before had built up to this, every fight that was never quite resolved, and every doubt Jade had about their relationship, this thing about Sinjin was the straw that broke the camel's back. And it wasn't about Sinjin per se, it was finding out that Beck wasn't the nice guy she thought he was, finding out what he really thought about their friends, that they needed his "charity" to survive the school. She was completely disillusioned with him, and she knew that this time, nothing can make it better between them. Jade reached for the door, but Beck seemed to have realized that Jade really means it this time, and he blocked her way.

"Wait, are you serious?" He asked.

"Yes."

"So, that's it?"

Jade nodded. It really seems to hit him now, that this time, there is no chance they will _ever_ get back together.

"Well, if you're okay with being alone the rest of your life, then go ahead."

Jade froze.

"What's that supposed to mean?" She asked.

"I'm just saying, if you break up with me and we're never getting back together, then it's inevitable that you'll end up alone, because no one except me has ever loved you, and no one but me has _ever_ asked you out." Beck's voice was rising with that last sentence, and Jade felt her heart being slowly ripped apart. _"Because you are a crazy, mean, vicious, psychotic _bitch_ who pushes away everyone around you and destroys every relationship you've ever had, and no one loves you, not even your parents. No one will be crazy enough to ask you out ever again! Tori had to pay someone to ask you out, and even that wasn't enough. So yeah, you'll end up alone forever, and I hope you're happy with that. 'Cause I'm certainly happy that we won't be together anymore, 'cause if you didn't, you'll just end up destroying us both."_ With that, Beck went out of the janitor's closet and slammed the door behind him.

Jade felt like she had been stabbed in the chest, her head was spinning, she couldn't see or breathe properly, never mind think. She felt weak too, and it was all she could do to sink slowly down to the floor without hurting herself. Then she just curled up into a ball on the floor of the janitor's closet and cried.

* * *

When Jade woke up after having cried herself into and exhausted sleep, someone was holding her. Jade didn't remember falling asleep, and she only vaguely remembered being moved some time, which was probably when the person holding her came in and found her. That person had one arm around Jade's shoulder, the other arm cradled Jade's head against her chest, and Jade actually felt safe and comforted. Jade knew it was Tori without even looking, because only Tori would comfort her like that, only Tori could make her feel safe like that. She slipped her arms around Tori's slender waist and held on tighter and closed her eyes again.

When Jade next awoke, the lights coming from the school hallway and through the window in the door was dim. The school day was over and it was late. Jade panicked, thinking she was alone. She started to get up, but a pair of comforting arms held her back. Tori's voice made shushing sounds in her ear.

"It's okay, it's okay, I'm here." That familiar voice said.

Fresh tears streamed down Jade's face and she started sobbing again, this time, because she was grateful that she wasn't alone.

* * *

Jade was exhausted and all cried out when she got home that night. The things that Beck said, they broke her. It felt like her world had tumbled down to hear a person she once loved say those things about her. It confirmed all her biggest fears, all her insecurities about herself. She hadn't dared to tell even Tori about everything Beck said. She only told her that they broke up, she didn't tell her that she was the one who broke up with him, because that would lead to questions as to why she was crying, and Jade could not bear to tell Tori the things that Beck had said. Because what if he was right? What if Tori thought the same deep down inside? Jade knew that Tori had always been there for her, but what if, when she told her what Beck said, she realized Jade's true nature and abandoned her? Tori was the only thing Jade was holding onto right now, so she didn't dare tell her everything about her and Beck's break-up. Jade didn't know what would have happened if Tori hadn't found her in the janitor's closet. She had felt like she was drowning, like she would die from the things Beck said to her, but Tori saved her. She held on to the thought of Tori so she wouldn't have to think about Beck and the terrible things he said. Jade thought about the other times when she ran to Tori for help, the times when she knew that only Tori could help her, like the time with Alyssa Vaughn, Jade went to Tori because the boys were boys, and Cat isn't exactly reliable. That was the start of it, when she finally began to let Tori in. And after that, it just seemed like Tori was the person she ran to every time Jade felt like her world was crumbling down.

The words stuck in her head and became the beginnings of a song: _You're the one I run to when my world is crumbling down, you're the one who saves me when I'm about to drown._ And since Jade couldn't sleep, she wrote the words down, and began to work on the song.

By three in the morning, Jade had most of the lyrics down, and a melody for the chorus, with a pretty good idea for how the chords would run for the verses. The song had become, in the process of her writing it, about more than just the break up with Beck. She had incorporated into it the realization that the reason she had stuck with Beck for so long and got back together with him on the Full Moon Jam was because he was the safe bet, and she was afraid to take a risk and open herself up to someone else. She also put into the song all the other times that she and Beck fought when Tori was there for her. Only now did she feel like she could fall asleep, so she went back over the lyrics from the beginning, humming along with the melody where she had it:

_It happened again tonight,  
We had another fight,  
He broke my heart and tore me up inside.  
So I ran,  
In the darkness, through the downpour,  
And found myself standing at your door. _

_Chorus:  
'Cause you're the one I run to  
When my world is crumbling down,  
You're the one who saves me  
When I'm about to drown.  
And you're the one who holds me  
To keep me on the ground  
(When I'm drifting, falling). _

_He came and apologized  
With sad, puppy dog eyes  
He said he's sorry, but his words were lies  
And I knew,  
But I didn't want to see it,  
'Cause he's the sure thing I thought I needed. _

_Chorus:  
But you're the one I run to  
When my world is crumbling down,  
You're the one who saves me  
When I'm about to drown.  
And you're the one who holds me  
To keep me on the ground  
(When I'm drifting, falling). _

_Bridge:  
And now he's let his true colours show  
Saying I'm worthless, that he would know,  
That I'm the one who'll destroy us both.  
And you were there again,  
Ready to help me, keep me sane. _

_Chorus:  
You're the one I run to  
When my world is crumbling down,  
You're the one who saves me  
When I'm about to drown.  
And you the one who holds me  
To keep me on the ground,  
When I'm drifting, when I'm falling,  
You're the one who holds me  
And keeps me on the ground._

Satisfied with her work for now, Jade lay down in her bed, still in her day clothes, and went to sleep.

Jade woke up from a nightmare a few hours later, in the dream, she was singing the song she had just wrote, it was finished in the dream, and it sounded beautiful, but Jade couldn't remember any of the melodies. When she finished singing the song, Tori came up to the stage and said:

"I knew you were in love with me."

"I…" Jade didn't know what to say.

Tori kissed her, when she stepped back, Andre, Beck, Cat and Robbie were all standing on stage behind her. Then Tori laughed at Jade, and said, "As if I could ever fall in love with you."

The others laughed at her too, and Beck went up to Tori and put his arm around her waist and kissed her.

That was when Jade woke up. She knew she shouldn't be worried that Tori and Beck would go out, especially since, one, Tori had assured her countless times that she wasn't interested in Beck, and two, she was the one who broke up with him. But for some reason, her worst nightmare is still seeing Tori kiss Beck.

Something the Tori in her dream said came back to her as she went about her morning, getting ready for school: _I knew you were in love with me_, dream-Tori had said, is she right? Jade wondered. Is that why she still hates the thought of Tori dating Beck? Because Jade was sure that she was over Beck this time. She wondered what she would do if it was true that she was in love with Tori. It was surprisingly easy to imagine, Tori was such a good person, she was always there for Jade, even when Jade made it difficult, and Jade had thought there were these little moments when they were with each other where the attraction was palpable, like the two occasions where they danced. The second time, Jade had thought that she and Tori were about to kiss before Trina interrupted them. She hadn't dared think about it afterwards, too scared of what would happen if she did. She had always explained it away as her imagination, because there was no way that Tori would like her like that. But if Jade was honest with herself, she knew she wouldn't have been the first to pull away if Tori had kissed her, which meant that Jade was at least open to the possibility of being with a girl, something about her sexuality that Jade had never considered.

But now that she's considering it, what the hell is she supposed to do with it? Does she ask Tori out even though she was pretty sure Tori's not gay? The worst she could do is say no, right? Jade thought. _Wrong!_ A little voice inside her said. What if she not only rejects her but shuns her once she finds out about Jade's feelings? What if it becomes awkward between them? Jade didn't know which is worse: Tori stopping to be her friend on purpose because she thinks it's too weird to be friends with a girl who's in love with her, or the distance creeping into their friendship because of the awkwardness after Jade confesses her feelings. Jade can't risk that, she can't risk what friendship she has with Tori for… for what? So Tori could be Jade's rebound girl?

_No._ Jade thought, getting into her car and heading toward school, _She deserves better than that. She deserves better than me._

A/N: I had wanted to post this chapter earlier, but I wasn't quite happy with it, and it took longer to edit and finish, and like I said, I'm still not quite satisfied. Part of what was so difficult for me to write this chapter is that it was essentially the first one without any plot from the show to ground it in, and without that, with such big events taking place, i.e. the break-up, I'm just not sure if I did it right. So please review and let me know where I did well and where I did badly, but again, **constructive** criticisms only please. Another thing that made this chapter hard to finish is the song. It took me a long time to finish, and needed a lot of tweaking, especially the bridge, and I'm still not sure about it. And yes, it's all my own lyrics, though I don't have any music to go with it. I have absolutely no idea how to write a melody, so I had to put a constraint on the syllable count of the lyrics in addition to the verse-chorus structure to make it seem at least plausible lyrics for a pop song/ballad (but if anybody's musically inclined and wants to take a stab at writing the music for fun, don't be shy about PM-ing me).

Okay, that's enough about this chapter (told you I had a lot to say). We've gotten over some of the biggest hurdles in the story, and now there's only one more chapter to go, with an epilogue to come (so two more updates in total). They are finished, so they'll be up soon, look for the final chapter Monday, maybe Sunday, if I'm feeling good, and the epilogue Tuesday or Thursday, (Friday if I'm feeling sentimental and don't want to say goodbye too soon).


	8. Chapter 8

Disclaimer: Victorious is property of Nickelodeon and created by Dan Schneider.

A/N: Here it is, the final chapter, the one we've all been waiting for, the one where they kiss. There is an epilogue coming, which happens a few years in the future, and actually, I can probably stretch the epilogue into a sequel of some sort if I really tried. What do you guys think? Should I?

Chapter 8:

"Hi!" Cat said cheerfully when Jade opened the door. She was toting an overnight suitcase and already wearing her favourite pair of pajamas (pink with cupcakes of different coloured frostings).

"Hey." Jade said. She stepped aside and let the redhead inside. Cat's Nona was going to Idaho to visit Cat's parents and brother, she'll be gone Thursday through Saturday and be back some time on Sunday, so Cat was staying with Jade for a few days. Jade didn't know why Cat didn't ask to stay at Tori's, but she had a suspicion that it might be so she could try and cheer Jade up.

Jade had been feeling down since her break-up with Beck a couple weeks ago, and she couldn't help but be subdued at school, not her usual snarky self. The only time that she put any energy into anything was that first day after their break-up, at lunch, when, after she sat down with Tori, Cat and Robbie, she saw Beck come over with Andre, and she couldn't help but think of the things that Beck said about Cat and Robbie, and she said, coldly:

"Well, hi Beck, doing a little charity work today?"

Beck became embarrassed, he looked around and dragged Andre off to sit at another table.

And every time she saw Beck, it all comes up again, so she takes every swing at him she can, with the result that Beck had learned not to approach her, and now everyday at lunch, they sit at different tables, and their little group is, in effect broken in two. Surprisingly, most of their friends chose to hang out with her.

Tori standing by her was not a surprise, but it was a relief nonetheless, and Jade was grateful for Cat, who, for a few days, had tried to talk to both of them, but Beck apparently didn't want her fluttering and chattering around him all the time, and he made Cat run crying to Jade. Cat didn't understand why Beck was being so mean, but Jade thought that it was because of the opinions Beck let slip when they broke up, now that it was out there, Beck is less inhibited by trying to appear as a nice guy. Jade didn't tell Cat though, just like she didn't tell anyone what Beck said about Robbie and Cat being "social charity-cases," because she didn't want to hurt their feelings. But she did get into another shouting match with Beck over his treatment of Cat. As for Robbie, he just followed Cat like a lovesick puppy, and when he found out Beck made Cat cry, he got angry and actually shouted at Beck, then swore he would never talk to Beck again.

Andre was the only one who stuck with Beck. He was angry too at the way Beck treated Cat, but somehow, Beck managed to convince him that he was sorry, and now only Andre and Tori really talked across the divide, and from what Jade can tell, they never talked about Beck or Jade or the break up of their group.

"You know it's only eight o'clock right?" Jade asked. Cat nodded. "So why are you already in your pajamas?"

"'Cause it's a sleepover," Cat replied, taking out a few things from her overnight bag and stowing the rest under Jade's bed. "Not an awake-over, and what do we wear when we're sleeping?"

Jade rolled her eyes, she should never have asked.

"Have you done your homework?" Jade said instead.

Cat shook her head, "I still have some left to do."

"Then hurry up and finish it." Jade said and left Cat upstairs to finish her homework. Jade went downstairs and re-watched _The Scissoring_ while she did. When the movie was over, Jade went back to her room and found that Cat had already finished her homework and was snooping through her stuff. When she came in. Cat was looking at the notebook where she wrote all her song ideas, and she was humming the tune to the song Jade wrote for Tori, which Jade finished a week back.

Jade didn't want anyone to hear that song, and she rushed at Cat, screaming, "No!" Cat saw her coming just as Jade fell upon her and got the journal out of her reach. Cat giggled. They wrestled on the bed for a while as Jade tried to take the notebook away from Cat, who was laughing like they were playing the best game in the world.

Jade finally got it away from her, she stuffed into her nightstand and said:

"Stop snooping through my stuff."

"It's a nice song, Jade," Cat said. "Who's it for? Is it for Tori?"

"No." Jade lied, getting off of Cat and sitting down on the bed beside her. "Why would you think it's for Tori? It's not for her. It's not for anyone." She paused, then said just to explain it, fearing that Cat would keep thinking the song was for Tori, "It came to me in a dream."

Cat turned onto her stomach, and said, "I had a dream once, and we were a family, you me and Tori. You were the dad, Tori was the mom, and I was your daughter, and we went on this trip to San Diego to see one of my favourite actresses."

"Mona Patterson?" Jade said.

Cat's eyes widened and she gasped, "How did you know? Did you have the same dream too?"

"No," Jade rolled her eyes, "'Cause it's not a dream, Cat. It really happened."

Cat looked even more surprised. "Are you and Tori my real parents?" She asked.

Jade blushed, "No, not that part." She said, a little annoyed. "Only the part where we went to San Diego. Remember? You thought she was dead because of an article talking about her joining _The Dead_?"

"Oh, yeah." Cat said. She seemed disappointed. "Too bad, you and Tori would make a cute couple, you'd make great parents too."

Jade wanted to smile, Cat's brain didn't work like other people's, and most days that meant she saw the world as full of pretty rainbows and she can be cheered up by rope and extension cords. But sometimes, it meant that she made connections that other people didn't, like the time when they were all fighting over Moose, and Tori secretly invited him over, Jade had believed her when Tori said that Moose wasn't there, but Cat saw the signs and figured out that Tori was lying. Now it seemed, Cat saw something of her feelings for Tori, Jade just hoped she wasn't obvious enough for anyone else to have noticed.

"As if that could ever happen." Jade scoffed. _I'm not good enough for her,_ Jade thought. _All I can hope for is to be her friend. And if I really love her,_ and she found that she really does,_ I'll let her be with someone who can make her happy, and if she's with me, it'll be nothing but pain, we're bickering all the time when we're friends, how the hell are we _not_ going to fight all the time if we get together? No, it's best if just stay friends._

Even if she likes you too? A little voice inside her head asked.

Jade hesitated, _Even if she likes me too, _She finally replied. _Besides, we don't really know that she likes me, Trina could have been lying._ Jade didn't really believe that though. Trina had grabbed her a few days ago, dragging her aside during lunch, Jade was about to punch her in the face for grabbing her like that, but Trina said:

"So you and Beck are really broken up now?"

Jade scoffed, "Yes. If you want him, go ahead, he's all yours, I hope you have many fat children together." She said sarcastically.

"That's not what I want to know." Trina said. Jade was surprised, what else could she want when she started the conversation by asking about her and Beck?

"I want to know what's going on between you and my sister." Trina said. She seemed to be actually serious for once instead of being the usual drama queen.

"What do you mean? Nothing's going on." Jade said.

"You know she's in love with you right?" Trina asked.

Jade felt her whole world shifting, her heart began to race and all she wanted to do at that moment is just go and find Tori and kiss her. Then she saw Trina looking at her, waiting for an answer, and a nasty thought came into her head: what if Trina was just trying to mess with her?

That calmed Jade down, and she said: "No, I didn't know that. We're just friends."

"If you're not interested, then you need to let her know, give her some sort of closure?"

Trina kept surprising Jade today, she was actually being a real person. Trina started to walk away, then said, "If you ask me, I think it's good that you're not interested, 'cause I don't think you're good enough for her, Tori deserves so much better than what you can give her."

That hit Jade like a truck, and knocked out of her all the elation she felt when she found out Tori liked her.

Jade didn't say anything afterwards when she joined Tori and the others for lunch, she took some time to think about what to do with this information. She thought a lot about what Trina said, the part about her not being good enough for Tori, which brought back to Jade's mind Beck's words when they broke up. Jade found that she didn't want to go through that again, to have someone she loved discover the darkness inside her. So when she got home that night, she wrote a letter to Tori, with all the reasons why they shouldn't be together, but she didn't give it to her yet. Trina was right, Tori needed to know how they stood, but Jade was scared to be so vulnerable, scared to show her doubts and insecurities to someone else, even if that person was Tori. That letter now sat in the drawer of her nightstand, Jade took it out and stared at Tori's name on the envelope, conflicted over whether to give it to her.

"What's that?" Cat asked.

"It's nothing." Jade said, coming out of her reverie. She put the letter back into its drawer and changed out of her day clothes.

"I'm tired," she told Cat. "So I'm going to go to sleep."

She wasn't really tired, she was just sad and a little depressed, so it wasn't difficult for her to fall asleep.

* * *

Tori found the letter Friday at lunch when she went to put her things back into her locker, it was slipped in there some time over the course of the morning. It was handwritten, with only her name on the front of the envelope. She thought she recognized the handwriting, but she couldn't be sure. She tucked it away into her bag so she could read it later. She didn't want to read it in public in case she was right in her suspicions of who it was from, but the letter distracted her for the rest of the day. She kept thinking, if it's really from Jade, what could she say in a letter that she couldn't say to her in person?

Tori has never been so relieved that the school day was over as she was that day, and she got home as quickly as she could and went up to her room and opened the letter.

_Dear Tori,_ it said,

_Trina told me today that you were in love with me. I don't know if it's true, I can't think of a reason why Trina would think that's funny if it's not, or why she would try to trick me like that, but it's not out of the realm of possibility. I hope it's true though, because it would mean that I'm not a complete wreck._

_I wanted you to know that I think you are beautiful, inside and out. You are beautiful, talented, brave, and nice to everyone, even me, even when I don't deserve it. You are the most amazing person I know. Having you in my life is a blessing, and it's an honour to be able to call myself your friend._

_But I'm afraid a friend is all I should ever be to you. I am not good for you. I'm afraid if we were together, I would bring you nothing but pain. I'm mean, and anti-social and just a bitch in general, I would say sarcastic things at the wrong times and drive away your family and friends, and you'll get tired of my jealousy of everyone who comes near you, just like Beck did. You'll realize that I'm not lovable, not by my parents, not by Beck and not by you. And I don't think I can change, and in the end, I would just break your heart, even if I don't want to. You would be much happier without me, so find someone else, a girl, a guy, someone who can make you happy, someone who appreciates you and knows what a treasure they have in you. Find someone who deserves you, and forget everything about me that could make you want to be more than friends. Pretend that we could never be anything more than friends, because just being friends is enough for me._

It was signed Jade. Tori went over the letter again, and grew angry and frustrated at Jade and at herself. She had been waiting for Jade to get over whatever happened in that break-up, feeling like it's not tactful to ask her out so soon, plus, to be honest, she was plain scared of Jade rejecting her if she did ask her out. But this letter changed everything, she had to let Jade know that she wasn't scared of Jade breaking her heart. She was afraid of rejection, sure, and of Jade laughing in her face at her feelings, but she wasn't scared of entering into a relationship with Jade, and she wasn't scared to face the problems that can come with it. So she took the letter, grabbed her coat and went to Jade's to confront her about it.

Jade opened the door when Tori knocked, she had apparently been watching TV with Cat. Tori burst through the door like Jade usually did at her house and slammed the door shut, then grabbed Jade by the wrist and dragged her upstairs to her room. Tori closed the door to Jade's room and waved the letter in Jade's face, saying:

"Is this what you really think? That you're not lovable?"

"How did you get that?" Jade asked.

"What do you mean? You put it in my locker."

"No, I didn't, I haven't decided whether I was going to give it to you yet." Jade said, looking hurt and scared.

"_Somebody_ must have done it."

They both took a moment to think who might have done it, and realization came on Jade's face, "CAT!" She yelled.

Cat came running.

"Whatie?" She asked, all innocent.

"Did you take this letter and put it in Tori's locker?" Jade asked.

Cat nodded, "I thought you wanted her to have it, it had her name on it."

Jade sighed.

"Look, it doesn't matter whether Cat put it there, is this what you really think of yourself? That you're a b— and you're unlovable?" Tori asked. She didn't say the b-word out loud for Cat's benefit.

"It's true though," Jade said loudly. "I'm mean and sarcastic and I push away everyone who tries to get close. Even Beck knows that, he said…"

Jade stopped, she looked heartbroken when she mentioned her breakup with Beck, and Tori just knew that Beck said nothing good. "What did Beck say?" Tori asked.

Jade took a deep breath and told her everything about the breakup, and the more she said, the angrier Tori became at Beck.

_"Beck's an asshole if he said that, and he doesn't know you at all!"_ Tori exploded as Jade finished telling the story.

"You are an amazing person, Jade West, never doubt that. And this letter is the most ridiculous thing I've ever read. I _like_ that you're sarcastic, I _like_ the pranks you play, I like how you can be both sweet and mean at the same time. And I like you just the way you are. And you know what?"

"What?" Jade asked.

"I _am_ in love with you." Tori said, she stepped up to Jade and put her hands around Jade's neck, "And I've noticed, that of all the reasons that you gave me saying why we shouldn't be together, you never said that you weren't in love with me." Then Tori leaned in and kissed Jade. Jade was surprisingly gentle when she kissed her back, her lips were soft, warm and wet. She felt Jade put her hands on her waist and pull her closer so that they were pressed against each other, and Tori's heart sped up. She opened her mouth to try and take a breath, but that only invited Jade's tongue into her mouth. Tori felt faint, she had imagined this moment for so long, ever since she figured out her feelings, and probably for a long time before, but what she imagined could never match the reality, and she didn't want it to end.

A soft, happy squealing sound took them out of their moment, they pulled apart simultaneously and Tori turned her head, ready to yell at whoever interrupted them. It was only Cat, bouncing up and down on her feet, squealing in delight and clapping softly for them. Tori found that she couldn't be angry at the redhead who seemed so happy for them to be together, so she smiled and found herself blushing at her and Jade's display of affection in front of Cat.

"Yay!" Cat squealed, "Does this mean you guys are dating now?"

"What do you think?" Tori asked Jade, still very aware that she was in Jade's arms "Are we dating now?"

Jade let out a melodramatic sigh, "I guess, if you're so desperate to be with me…" She joked.

Tori slapped Jade's arm, Jade laughed and said, "Yes, we are officially dating now." Then Jade kissed her again.


	9. Epilogue

Disclaimer: Victorious is property of Nickelodeon and created by Dan Schneider.

A/N: So, here it is, the epilogue to The Secret History of Tori and Jade.

Epilogue

Tori woke up with Jade's kisses on her lips, it was still her favourite way to wake up. She smiled and moaned with satisfaction. She opened her eyes and found Jade looking at her with her blue-green eyes.

"Morning." She said.

"Morning." Jade replied. "Sleep well last night?"

"Yep." Tori said, stretching.

She sat up in the bed, the covers slipping off of her naked body exposing her bare torso to the warm breeze that wafted in through the curtains of the half-open window. She caught Jade staring at her breasts with lust in her eyes.

"Stop looking at me like that," Tori said, covering up a little. "We don't have time for it this morning." Today was a big day, and it was very important that nothing spoils Tori's good mood. She had a few recording sessions that day, and Tori _must_ be on time, otherwise, they'd risk running late, which would ruin Tori's plans for tonight.

Today was their anniversary, they are now two twenty-five year olds making their way in the world, and it was eight years ago today that Tori and Jade first got together. Eight years ago, Tori figured out her feelings for Jade. Eight years ago, after their first date, Tori heard the song Jade wrote for her and decided there was no one else for her except Jade. Eight years ago, a few days after they got together, Tori punched Beck in the face for the things he said to Jade and they never talked to him again.

Of course, they've had their ups and downs, when Jade went to Julliard and Tori stayed in L.A. for a singing career, the distance destroyed their relationship after a year and a half, and they broke up, but they reconnected and started dating again when Jade came back to town to shoot a movie she had written. It was then that both their careers took off, Jade became a famous screenwriter and playwright, and Tori became a big name in music, but their success actually became an obstacle to their relationship since they're always traveling for work and can never find time to be together. So they decided to focus on their careers and get together whenever they can. That meant an on-again-off-again relationship between the two of them, and not all their partings were amicable, sometimes, either Tori or Jade would get frustrated that they'd have to part ways and they would have a fight and break up, which at least made the parting easier.

This time, they had a larger chunk of time together than usual, since Jade was working on a TV project that would keep her more or less in L.A. for a good long while and Tori was between tours, working on writing and recording music. And they've only gotten back together a few months ago when Tori made her plans for this anniversary of theirs, it was one of the few they were able to spend together, and Tori wanted it to be special, so, as turned on as she was by the look in Jade's eyes, Tori had no time for sex this morning.

Jade kissed her on her neck, Tori shivered with pleasure, "Come on, Jade, we don't have time for this, isn't what we did last night enough?"

Jade smirked at her, "It was enough for last night, but not for this morning."

Tori rolled her eyes, "You're insatiable."

Jade was nibbling her earlobe and her jawline, and only replied with an "Mm-hmm." And the vibration made Tori's skin tickle, and she felt the heat spread from her center.

"Aren't you ever satisfied?" Tori asked.

"Nope, not when it comes to you."

Tori melted when Jade said that. She turned her head and kissed Jade on the mouth. Jade's hand came up to her breasts, and Tori knew that Jade thought she was going to have her way, but Tori got her urges under control and pushed Jade away.

"No." She said firmly. "We have to be on time tonight at the restaurant, and that means getting off work on time, which depends on us getting _to_ work on time. So you'll just have to be patient and wait for tonight."

Jade groaned and fell back onto the bed. Tori sat up again, this time pulling the sheets up to cover herself as she got up off the bed. She made her way toward the bathroom. She could all but feel Jade's gaze on her naked back. She turned and gave Jade a teasing smile before stepping into the shower and closing the shower door.

They got through the rest of their morning without Jade trying to jump her bones again, and soon, they kissed each other goodbye and went off to work.

Tori's excitement over their anniversary plans sustained her through the day, and they got more done than they expected, and Tori rewarded herself and her production team by taking off a half hour early, and went home to prepare for their dinner.

Jade came back an hour after she did, and she took her time preparing, and sometimes, Tori caught Jade looking at her, and she knew that Jade was going slowly on purpose to annoy her because she'd made such a big deal about being at the restaurant on time. But Tori didn't feel like hurrying Jade right now, she was too nervous so close to the main event. Jade seemed to notice this, because she soon stopped dragging things out and when they were finally ready and heading out the door, Jade said to her:

"Relax Tori, it's just dinner, it's just me. I know it's our anniversary and everything, but you don't have to be nervous."

Tori nodded. Jade didn't know what she had planned, or why it was so important to Tori that tonight was perfect, Tori wanted it to be a surprise, so she took a calming breath and pretended that it was just a normal dinner.

They drove out to their restaurant, it was a small and little-known place, but the food was very good. It was the kind of place that only someone who was born and raised in L.A. would know, others wouldn't give it a second look when they passed the front door. That meant that not a lot of big stars came here, therefore no paparazzi, and it was that privacy as much as the good food that drew Tori there tonight, because she wanted this night to be something intimate and special between her and Jade.

They parked the car and entered the restaurant. The hostess took their names and seated them. They ordered and Tori listened to Jade talk about her day as they waited for their food to arrive. Tori didn't talk much, she was getting too nervous in anticipation of what came next.

The food came, they ate, and when they were finished their waiter cleared away the dishes and asked them if they would like their desserts.

"Just give us a moment, would you?" Tori said.

"Of course." The waiter said, walking away.

Tori took a deep breath, looked Jade in the eye and said:

"Jade, we've been dating on and off for eight years now, and our schedules just never seems to work out, and, I'm tired of this on-and-off thing, so I've been thinking …"

Jade interrupted her, "Are you breaking up with me?" She looked like she was getting angry, but Tori knew that was just a disguise for her hurt and fear.

Tori cursed herself, of course Jade would think that, Tori knew that Jade was afraid that their relationship would end the same way as her and Beck's did.

"No," Tori said, "No, that's not what I'm saying," She got out the ring-box and went to her knees.

"Jade," She said, her heart pounding in her chest, "The first day we met, you had me on my knees and barking like a dog, and now, nine years later, here I am, on my knees again, but don't expect me to bark like a dog this time," She laughed nervously, and Jade laughed too, she looked shocked, as if she couldn't believe this is happening. Tori continued:

"I'm on my knees again because I can't stand wondering anymore every time we're in the off phase, if this is the time that you would fall in love with someone else when I'm not with you, because for me, there _is_ no one else, never has been. So, Jade West, will you marry me?"

A single tear flowed down Jade's cheeks.

"Oh God, I hate you Vega," Jade said, wiping her tear away, "For turning me into this sappy romantic. But yes, I'll marry you." She gave Tori a hug and said, "I love you."

"I love you too." Tori said. She pulled back and put the ring on Jade's finger. She was so relieved that Jade said yes, Tori was pretty sure that she would, but still, what if she'd been wrong? She had been planning this ever since they got back together this most recent time, and it was hard keeping it a secret from Jade and act as normal as she could, but she was able to keep the ring at the store until yesterday, so at least there had been no chance that Jade would find the ring.

Tori sat down again and waved their waiter over and asked him to bring their desserts. It came quickly, and as they ate, Jade kept examining at the ring on her finger.

"Are you wondering how many carats it is?" Tori asked wryly.

"No, I was thinking that now I don't have to shell out for an engagement ring for you, since you proposed to me." Jade said half teasingly, with her trademark smirk on her face.

Tori raised an eyebrow, "Oh, I still want an engagement ring," She said. "And you'll buy it for me too," She lowered her voice and leaned in to whisper in Jade ear: "Unless you want me to be the husband in our marriage_ all the time_."

Jade's eyes narrowed. Tori made her face blank and stared her down.

Jade rolled her eyes, "Fine," she said. "We'll go ring-shopping tomorrow."

Tori smiled triumphantly and took a bite of her chocolate cake, she had had chocolate cake at this place before, but it had never tasted so sweet as it did that night.

Later, when they got back home, Tori fulfilled the promise she made to Jade that morning, and Jade took her with all the passion Tori felt from her the first time they made love.

After, when they were more or less satisfied and much too exhausted to do any more, Tori curled up in Jade's arms, their bodies pressing against each other, their legs intertwined, she sighed contentedly. Come the morning, they'll go shopping for her ring, and then tell all their friends and family the happy news, and soon enough, they'll be married. But she had been Jade's for a long time now, she had given Jade her heart long before they went on their first date, before she even knew that Jade liked her, and their on-again-off-again relationship caused by their conflicting schedules had taught her to treasure each moment she spent with Jade, and she was so grateful that they will be spending the rest of their life together no matter what. Tori snuggled in closer to her fiancée and drifted off to sleep with a contented smile on her face.

**The End**

*A/N: I think gay marriage is not actually legal in California right now, I looked it up, Wikipedia's not the most reliable source, but I think they probably have the broad strokes right about something like this. Tori and Jade can always move to New York and get married there if eight years later that still hasn't changed. I originally included a conversation about it between Jade and Tori at the restaurant, but it didn't really fit the tone of the scene, so I deleted it.

* * *

Post Script: and there you have it, the end, I thought about expanding this epilogue into a sequel of sorts, but decided against it, because the story would still end with their engagement, and I wanted to put this story away now, and maybe work on some other stuff. I have an idea for a second fanfiction story, but it's going to be longer, more complicated, and definitely harder to write than this was, so it'll take me longer to make sure I have it figured out enough for me to start posting it. But I do like the idea, and I guess those who have me on their author alert would find out when I start posting it, hint, hint- a bit of shameless self-promotion there ;). In the meanwhile, I'll say goodbye, for now, and I hope you enjoyed reading this story as much as I did writing it. Thanks to everyone who favourited/followed/reviewed this story, I loved hearing from you guys, your encouragement was greatly appreciated. So, until next time, thank you for reading.


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